


Project: Beast

by 0m3g4



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood Drinking, Caboose gives good advice, Character Death, Dark Humor, Drinking, Explicit Language, F/M, Familiars, Mental Torture, Paranormal, Team as Family, Vampires, Violence, Werebears, Werecats, Werewolves, cannibalism kind of, cheese and veggie omelet MRE consumption, cock blocking clones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-02-09 02:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12878058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0m3g4/pseuds/0m3g4
Summary: Instead of Project Freelancer using AI to upgrade their soldiers, they used antiquated DNA of shifters and monsters. It was looking like a success until the final soldier was completed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have been working on this for so long, constantly changing things to the point that I am ten chapters in and still haven't posted anything.  
> I apologize for some long chapters, I tend to be long winded.
> 
> Maine Polar Bear  
> North Dakota: Brown Bear  
> South Dakota: Lion  
> Carolina and York: Vampire  
> Washington: Wolf  
> Connecticut and Florida: Selkie  
> Wyoming: Snow Leopard  
> Texas: ???

~

There's something inside you that isn't right  
There's something that haunts your dreams at night  
There's something that you have lost

Bringing It Down - Starset

~

 

Breaking into the small base was easier than Carolina thought. It was like they left the door wide open with the porch light on, waving at her to come inside. Even in the dark, she could see the main living quarters of the base, even though she didn't want too.  
It was a pig sty.  
Wrappers and bottles littered every surface. This was not a very typical base she was used too. Most of the units kept up regulations. Cleanliness is next to godliness, she could hear her mother's voice above her as she helped her clean up the toys that escaped from the toy box. The last happy memory she had of her mother before she left for deployment only coming home five months later in a box. She wanted to grieve, but her father's sobbing voice carried on through the foggy morning made her stick out her chest and be strong. Lost in thought she didn't feel the butt of the gun against the back of her skull. If it was from a normal human, it would have just been a glancing blow. This had some power behind it even for a Sim.  
     "Got her! Can I have a cookie now?"  
Before she blacked out completely, she heard a familiar voice sigh, "It isn't her, but we could still use her."

*******

Wash double checked the complex knot keeping his former team leader affixed to the heavy metal chair. The sun was just starting to drift through the window, creeping light shining across the room and inching up her leg.  
He held back a growl as he stared at her. Memories of her mocking grin when he failed a mission or when he took a punch rattling what little senses he had left during punishment training.  
He has a soft spot for Carolina, like a bruised piece of fruit.  
She always had an entitled air about her. Better than the shifters on the team, acing all missions, and held the highest scores during training. She mingled with the others, but just enough to make it look like she was apart of the team. To him, she was only there just to show face and gloat.  
He tamped down the shift under his skin. Not a good time. Perhaps tonight. A good run under the stars, tail in the wind and nose in the air would do some good.  
     "So, not her I'm guessing." Tucker sauntered into the room and slumped down on the couch, old training shirt riding up as he scratched at his belly. A bottle rolled into his leg from across the pillows. "Oh! Whiskey for breakfast?"  
The sloshing the golden liquid made Wash's throat ache. "Tempted, but I'll decline for now." He looked back at his charge who started to groan as the sun flitted up her stomach.  
     "If she isn't Tex, who is she? Another of those Freelancer freaks?"  
His snorted at the term 'freak'.  
Tucker and his team was no better. There were genetically enhanced to be training soldiers for the Freelancers, Sims for short. Extra strength, but not so much in the intelligence department.  
     "She isn't Tex, but she is supposed to be dead. Must be a zombie."  
     "There better not be a mother fucking zombie in my goddamn base!"  
Ah, there was sleeping beauty now. For a cyborg, he was a little buggy and had a terrible fear of something that doesn't exist. Wash would have said the same about himself twenty years ago. Werewolves don't exist. Didn't exist, but existed now. "No worries Church, they eat brains. You'll all be fine." He patted his back as he entered the room.  
     "Hey, up yours asshole." He peered down as Carolina looked up. "Huh, it is a zombie. Well, just don't let Caboose make friends with it. I'm not changing its damn littler box." He pulled at the short goatee as she tried to lunge, stopping short of her ropes. "Wa ho ho there. Wash is super at bondage; you're not moving an inch until you say the safe word."  
Crossing his arms over his chest, Washington leaned against the filthy counter, "Keep that up and I'll tell Caboose that you have a fun switch in your anus."  
Tucker snorted whiskey up his nose with laughter.  
     "Alright fuck you buddy. You do that and I'll shove a silver bullet up your ass."  
Fighting with her restraints and looking a bit more than aggravated at the display in front of her. "What do you want with me?"  
     "Prisoners don't get to ask the questions, especially ones that break into our base at night." Walking forward, he saw the sun beam now creeping slowly up her chin. He was going to enjoy this way too much. "Guys out, interrogation time."  
Caboose was fully suited, looked in with a bit of concern in his voice. "Don't hurt her too bad Mr. Agent Washington. She doesn't feel like a mean girl."  
     "Caboose, what did I tell you?" Church's voice taking on a screechy quality, leaving the room to get his gear on.  
     "That there are only mean girls." He picked up his training rifle and waited a patiently as he could for Church.  
     "Ugh...call me back when the mess is cleaned up. I hate blood." Tucker removed himself from the couch with a grunt.  
Tuesday mornings was running in the armor and he had to rig a muffin on Caboose to get the other team to chase him. Blue team somehow was the only ones to get muffins in their supply drop making the Red team envious. Even with Freelancer down, Command was still mind fucking people.  
     "You're a fucking soldier!" Church screamed from another room as he jostled with his armor. It clanged as he lost balance and slammed into the wall, sliding down with a metallic squeal as he cursed for someone to pick him up.  
     "I'm a shitty soldier!" Picking up the muffin box and some string, "Besides, don't see your ass in here."  
     "Dude, I saw enough blood with Tex. I like to avoid it."  
Tucker made some quip about periods which Caboose asked if that is when they breathed fire.  
_No buddy, they breathe fire...all the time._  
Somehow, Church was the only one who had an idea of who and what Agent Texas was. Wash would ask only seeing the blood drain from the other man's face, then his head dropping with a sad shake.  
When hacking the main computer, he only got a glimpse of the surface of hell itself. They had all the information from psychoanalysis, strengths, weakness, how to push them harder and how to make them hate each other, but the information on Texas was secured that even he had trouble getting into.  
The Freelancers were united as a family unit, held together by something no other person in the universe could even comprehend, even more than the enhanced soldiers. Then the trails and missions started. They were selected by personality traits to what form they would be shifted too. He was a social creature, wanting nothing more than to please the 'alphas' and to keep the unit working. Sadly, they thought it best to isolate him and kick him down to omega status.  
A lone wolf.  
Pushing down the sentimentalism, he looked into her angry face.  
Oh that angry face.  
It reminded him of her disgust of the shifters on the team, always throwing a snarl their way when things didn't go exactly as planned.  
Lower class to her pristine lineage. Fucking vampires.  
She had no need to fight shifting. Fight the animal inside screaming for release only succumbing to the mind break and becoming a rampaging murderer who could discern friend from foe. Like Maine.  
     "Carolina..." He drawled out her name, watching the tick in her cheek from the mimic of the Director's voice. "Do you know why the sunlight doesn't hurt you unless you are injured?" A slight hitch in her breath was the only tell. She would have not have found out since they were forbidden to go outside the base without armor. Everything they learned about themselves was on a need to know bases and they didn't need to know anything.  
      _Finally_ , Wash thought. _I know something you don't know._ "The white blood cells can't take it. It isn't the injury that kills you but your blood. Turns into an explosive, like nitroglycerin." Rolling up his sleeve, he half shifted his right arm. The crackling of his joints sounded like party poppers in the tightly spaced room. Her eyes widened and she exhaled slowly, a calming maneuver that wouldn't work this time.  
Fully shifted, it would have been a perfectly formed paw. Black, furry, and soft to the touch. Silent while treading the dry leaves of the woods or fresh powered snow. Half shifted; it looked as something from a horror movie. Black veins, gray skin and the claws that would match his favorite knife. It took time to master, but it was oh so worth the pain when he looked into his quarry's frightened eyes.  
     "Now, what would happen if you have a puncture injury in direct sunlight?"  
Eyes wide, she glanced quickly down and back up. Carolina was covered in sunlight. She wouldn't whimper. That's not how an alpha goes down.  
She gave a primal scream, one last push of strength against her bonds to save herself, but they didn't budge. With a defeated breath, she looked through her eyebrows, "Do your worst."  
Shrugging, he slashed at her face with outstretched claws and watched as her blood sizzled in the light. Giving her a few seconds of pain, he tipped her chair back- slamming her hard into the floor, the wounds now shadowed by her knees in the air. Her head bobbed a bit as she caught her bearings, sucking air through her teeth as she fought through the pain of her burns.  
Wash crouched by her and slapped his open palm next to her ringing skull, claws scraping against the concrete floor. The venom poured from his voice, "Do you know that's how York died? Took an armor piercing bullet through and through the chest. Sunlight turned him into a bottle rocket." Eyes gold with rims of black bored down into her shining emeralds as the pupils pulsated with fear, loss, anger.  
That name. It always broke her.  
     "So, how did you live. How did Maine rip out your throat and yet you still live?" Voice was half calm half screeching. _Why did she have the live and not York? Or North and South?_  
Her pupils pinpointed and he could see the tips of her fang on her lips. "He missed. His teeth got stuck in my armor. I beat at his nose till his shook me loose. All I remember is the roars as he threw me off the cliff."  
She turned her head away from him, not letting the sadness show to him. She was Agent Carolina, she didn't show weakness.  
     "I don't remember how, but I wondered to an abandoned base over the ridge. It must have been days later. My brain went into preservation mode. Who else was going to try to kill me? Why did they want to kill me? Why..." her voice stilled and got so small, "why did the Director abandon me?"  
Ah, the Director. She wasn't going to say it.  
Relaxing his posture, Wash leaned into her face. She continued to stare out the door. A sudden compulsion pushed him forward as he licked the blistering marks he created on her face.  
Burnt blood. Salty and smoky. There was another element that he just couldn't put his claw on. Old and familiar.  
     "Stop! My blood will-"  
     "Kill me? Lies daddy told you." Leaning back against the table leg, he relaxed his hand snapping back to human. He flexed his fingers as the joints popped. Her shock filled the air with a thick ozone that permeated his skin. Night couldn't come fast enough. It made his skin itch.  
     "How...."  
Again, he knew more and it tickled at his spine. "The dear Director, even though tested on you and used you, also had a twinge of parental instincts. Telling you that your blood and our blood were poisonous to one another was to keep you out of trouble. We all know you and York shared with each other, probably thought because you were both vampires it didn't matter." He exhaled slowly, remembering the story. "But one of our missions went array. He took too many shots and was down. I got to him and gave cover as Maine dismantled their forces.  
     "I can still hear his voice, 'tell her, tell her I'm sorry. Fucked it up big.' I ripped off my gauntlet as Maine came back to assess the damage. He tried to stop me, but York was dying and I couldn't help but try. I gave him my blood as we waited for pick up."  
Looking at her cheek, it was a little red but healed. Standing with a small pop of the knee that just refused to heal, he tipped her chair right side up. Her appreciative grunt turned to shock as he cut her ties. He was quick with the knife. There were always at least five live blades on his person at all times...except when he was in wolf form. His teeth and claws were enough. He balanced the knife on the tip of his finger as he flipped it, catching the handle and sliding it smoothly into the sheath under his shirt.  
She rubbed her numbing wrist, "He was at the med bay when I came from my mission. Never told me that you gave him blood, just the fifteen bullets and super awesome scars. They never did though...scar that is." Her eyes flitted upwards towards him through her lashes, her lips pulled tight.  
     "We made a pact not to talk about it. I wanted to look and see if the research was wrong. Took me forever to hack the system and find out the details. But, it was all for naught." Running his hands through his thick hair, sadness and anger clutched at his throat, "Most of us would be dead by the end of the week."  
Shoulders slumping, her posture seemed to slacken as the words left her lips, "Who...and how did they die?" Wash knew this was going to suck. He pulled a glass from the cabinet and slammed down the bottle of bourbon. Top shelf Scotch was his favorite, but 'never look a gift bottle of booze in the mouth', York would say as he slid a shot towards him. It was usually vodka.  
God he hated vodka. He would chug Maine's Jaeger before vodka. Literally, right out of his hands while the seven footer gave him an incredulous look.  
     "I was seriously ready to torture you. Really, thanks for taking the fun out of it by the way."  
She scoffed as she leaned on the counter. "Sorry to be a constant source of disappointment."  
Pouring her a shot and taking the bottle for himself, he rubbed the scars on the back of his neck. Funny how York wanted scars, he was nothing but. Patch of gray hair grew from a bad slash he took from South during a training exercise. Arms ribboned, legs marred, his chest savaged and his back...oh his back was nothing but a grand canyon of ridges in soft pink flesh. They healed slowly and he estimated that the ones on his back would probably take a century to go away, if he lasted that long.  
Taking a long draw from the bottle he hissed a little from the biting burn of the alcohol. All they could get was the cheap stuff, but it was better than nothing in this little hole in the ground called Blood Gulch. "So, that last day. Well, you were preparing for leave for some mission by yourself which felt weird. Maine's headaches were getting worse and worse. His other half was screaming at him to let it out. All of ours did, but his was a roar. Deafening him till it just...snapped." He snapped his fingers in emphasis.  
Dear God did it snap.  
Carolina tentatively sipped her glass. He made sure to keep it full, it was going to be a long day and they both needed it. So much for torturing her, now he was torturing himself.  
     "He changed. Surrounded in snow he blended in and you were in his sights as you left. It didn't matter who it was, we were all targets to him. I was suiting up when I saw North and South running with guns to outside of the vehicle bay. When I finally got out there, North's neck was already snapped as he was hanging from Maine's mouth and South...she fought so hard."  
He began to pace behind the short counter. The scene replaying like a black and white film behind his eyes. Every gulp of bourbon added color. Added clarity. Made it worse but made it palatable, easier to say out loud. "She changed form and was biting the back his neck, trying to get him to let of her brother's body. The crunching of his teeth as bit through the armor still wakes me up at night."  
He looked over at Carolina as she held the full glass in both hands. She was looking down and he could see the soft plops of tears dripping into the bourbon. She sniffled softly and threw the glass back, slamming it down and pushing it towards him. Nodding, he refilled and continued. "I was able to shoot him in the stomach making him let go of North. He hit me hard with a back paw and I landed against a tree. Survival took over and I changed.  
     "The first time hurt, never felt pain like that before. I scrambled out of the armor as my body shifted and I was on him. South was trying to protect her brother not realizing he was dead. Her eye was clawed out, her teeth were broken, but she saw me and pushed herself up to fight one last time. I was fresh and took to his throat while South tried to snap the back of his neck. It didn't work; her teeth were too far broken down. He was three times the size of a normal polar bear and all the testing they did to him made him brutally strong. He ripped her off his back and slammer her into a rock. Her back snapped.  
     "I clinched harder, but his throat was too damn thick. I was alone. I should have let go and took a defensive position. Never got the chance to though. He began to tear my spine out with his massive claws. Didn't get it, but did a fine job making me let go. Wyoming finally took the shot that bounced off Maine's skull. I took the opportunity and slammed my body into him as he stumbled over the edge. I blacked out and found myself in the rehabilitation tank sometime later. I was the only one that survived the fight."  
Her voice was small, shock strangled her usual bite. "None of that should have happened."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Washington has flashbacks from Freelancer and his first day in Blood Gulch. Malarkey is present or is it a state of mind?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really Chapter 1 Part 2. The meat of the story is here and I had to cut it because the first chapter was really pushing the length. 
> 
> Maine Polar Bear  
> North Dakota: Brown Bear  
> South Dakota: Lion  
> Carolina and York: Vampire  
> Washington: Wolf  
> Connecticut and Florida: Selkie  
> Wyoming: Snow Leopard  
> Texas: ???

~  
Even a well-lit place can hide salvation  
A map to a one-man maze that never sees the sun  
Where the lost are the heroes  
And the thieves are left to drown  
But everyone knows by now  
Fairy tales are not found  
They're written in the walls

It Has Begun - Starset  
~

 

Washington could hear the soldiers returning to base. Tucker and Grif wheezing, Sarge complaining about slackers, Simmons agreeing with a slight nasally voice, and Caboose triumphantly skipping with a muffin tied to a stick from the back of his helmet claiming that he won the game.  
To be that free again made him sober a bit, or it was the super fast metabolism?  
A deep feminine voice woke him from his day dream of normality, "What about the others?"  
     "That is the hard part. I was in that tank for almost four months. I don't think it even took that long to change me. York went out of his mind to find you. At the bottom of the ravine, he found your scorched amour washed up from the river a mile away and no Maine, but he refused to give up.  
     "The Director became a recluse; no one knows where he is. His project failed and began to eat itself from the inside out. He gave Florida a mission to protect his last project from whoever was taking over. Florida died from a heart attack somehow; the Blues won't tell me more. Wyoming just disappeared into the night after shooting Maine. I have a feeling he killed York, he was hunting you down with Tex who was hunting the Director and...It is a huge cluster fuck. Now, I gave you that rundown...why did you kill CT?"  
Glazed over eyes looked up to him as she tapped the glass one more time. Ever the gentleman, he gave her the last shot.  
     "We found a mole, it was Connecticut. She betrayed us Washington."

In some sad way, he wasn't surprised CT had betrayed them, but it still hurt to hear. The things they were tasked to do rubbed her moral code the wrong way. She was far better with tech than actual fighting and would be snooping a bit around the computers when the others were not paying attention. Apparently, someone was paying attention. She was far too kind to be with the likes of them.  
She just disappeared right before everything fell and Carolina came back with her tail between her legs as she was reprimanded on all sides. She glared his way and lifted her chin in the way that rubbed him the wrong way. The second time he saw her not being perfect.

~

The first was when was freshly changed and in a meeting with the others. Carolina was late because she was still training, loosing time as she lost herself. She did not appreciate being degraded by superiors, especially in front of the rookie. A name that no matter how hard he tried or how well he did, would stick. Even with new recruits, he was still the rookie.  
Wash remembered her eyes glowing with hellfire as she looked at him from across the table, face flush as she was literally biting her tongue to keep from responding back as the Councilor and the Director reminded her yet again of her tardiness will be the death of her. They had schedules to keep and very important work to do.  
At the end of the meeting, she shoulder checked him, giving him a good push out of her way. First impression was not good, and it just kept going down hill from there.

North placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Don't let her get to you rookie, she just can't take failing in front of the Director." Looking over, he gave introductions. "Name's North Dakota, call me North. Big, bald and beautiful over there is Maine. We are Team Care Bears."  
Maine shook his head and gave an exasperated sigh rubbing the bridge of his nose.  
Nodding toward a seemingly angry woman leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, "That's my sister South, we're twins." He leaned in close, "Careful, she's getting over a nasty catnip addiction."  
She let out a low growl as she pushed off, punching North's chest as she went out the door. He gave a playful chuckle, not taking any offense.  
Out of the shadows chimed a voice, "Good show mate."  
He nodded, "The gentleman that looks like someone from a Steampunk romance is Wyoming." He gave a two finger salute and Wyoming returned it with a smile. "Now we have dashing in blue Florida-" looking around, "Left already?"  
A gruff voice came up from behind, words spoken slowly and carefully, "Special project." Maine's voice was as rough as his appearance.  
     "No special intro for me? I'm hurt."  
     "And York. He can break into anything...set off the alarms and get us caught, but hoo boy can he loudly pick a lock." North laughed as he slapped York's back in amusement.  
     "One time!" Throwing his hands in the air, "Holographic locks hate me! I hit the wrong code once-"  
     "Once is all it all it takes. No failure. Ever." Wyoming stated as he dismissed himself.  
That left a dark cloud over their heads.  
     "Chow hall?" Maine rasped broke the dreary air.  
York looked up, "I have a mission in 30 hours, drinks? We can get to know the rookie!" He grabbed Washington's shoulders and gave him a rough shake.  
     "Deal." Maine's large form wedged through the door as the rest followed.  
Wash was a bit weary of drinking with strangers, but this was his new family now; and nothing brings people together like telling jokes and stories over liquor.  
He couldn't return to earth like the simulation troopers could. In a way, he was considered a weapon and had no choice but to stay even after its conclusion.  
He was an investment.  
At least he wasn't alone.  
It was going good till Carolina showed up to remind York of the mission. He laughed and gave a half assed speech about metabolism and she informed him about being shot in the ass. "How's that for metabolism?" She grabbed his ear like an angry school marm and began to drag him out while he talked about scars.

~

Listening to the joking laughter outside as the guys bet Grif he couldn't eat five pouches of cheese and veggie omelet MREs, he didn't hear a familiar angry voice swearing that he isn't cleaning up the mess.  
Little cockbite.  
     "Church..." Wash called, looking up. He heard a thump from the top of the base.  
     "What!"  
     "How much did you hear?"  
A grunt of a reply and he could hear shuffling off the roof down the hall. He clomped into the room like a disorderly child. "Enough." Of course he heard. He had hearing almost as good as Wash's due to the cochlear implants. Too bad that was his only advancement. He couldn't run, bad attitude, not strong, and all in all he was a shit shot. Some cyborg.  
Church glanced over at Carolina who never got a good look at him till now.  
The dawning realization made her eyes go wide as she pointed.  
     "Ah, how rude of me. Agent Carolina, this is Project Alpha. The pain in the ass leader of Blue Team. They call him Church."

~

When Wash first came to their bases six months ago, sent to hunt after Maine by Command; he caught something in the air...something not right. The ocean was miles away but he could still smell it, like it was right there.  
The bases looked typical enough, set apart in a canyon from each other.  
One with a blue flag and the other with a red.  
Small craters dotting the landscape from random explosions. He could hear voices, more like shouting about who ate the last Twinkie followed by an echoing belch. He stood on the ridge debating about if it was worth questioning the simulations troops about a four thousand pound rampaging polar bear.  
     "Goddamn it. How did I get myself into this?"  
Slinging his pack over his shoulder, he continued down the ridge. He liked to walk. No worry about transport breaking down and he could take in everything at his pace. Plus, he didn't have to worry about loosing the scent because of fumes from the vehicle.  
He wanted all senses alert.  
Maine had a five month lead on him and he was having trouble catching his scent on the breeze.  
     "Hello? Is there anyone in charge I can talk too?" He stood on the hill between what sounded like a war zone that was raging inside each base. "Or survivors...that would be fine too." He was guessing there was going to be some nonsensical bullshit about to hit.  
     "Who goes there!?" Bellowed from the Red side.  
     "What the fuck do you want!?" screeched from the Blue base.  
Sighing, which is now his reaction to everything life threw at him. "I need to speak to the commanders. I'm an Agent calling a cease fire. No guns-"  
     "No can do!" He heard a gruff voice from Red Base. "If my shotgun can't come, then I can't come!" There was a bark of laughter and then silence as he assumed holder of said shotgun hit whoever laughed. He heard someone say something about dirt bags and the other claim it was worth it.  
A voice came from behind, "Yeah, he isn't putting that fucking thing down. So what do you want so I can tell you to go the fuck away. Far away...and take Caboose with you."  
     "Are you always this hostile?"  
     "Huh? Oh, probably. What is it? Tuesday...yeah. Fucking Tuesdays." He snorted and propped his sniper rifle rudely next to his foot, "When you Freelancer fucks come around, shit hits the fan. I like my fans shit free." He sounded stressed out.  
The commander from Red Base finally arrived at the middle ground, "Who dares to ask me to put down my trusty shotgun?" Leveling it to Wash's head.  
Long day, it is going to be a long day.  
     "I'm tracking a...polar bear."  
Another soldier came up from red base, "A polar bear? What is this? Lost?"  
The Red Commander stuttered, "I haven't watched the ending! No spoilers!"  
The new comer in maroon amour whined "That show was on hundreds of years ago!"  
They began to generally fight making Wash turn to the Blue Commander who knew exactly what he was going to say.  
     "Yes...all the goddamn time."  
     "How do you get anything done?"  
     "We don't! That's what makes this place is so great! And you just being here is fucking it up!"  
     "The polar bear, have any of you seen it...or anything else weird?" He broke, "Weird for you guys?"  
The rest of the troopers came out of blue base and encircled him.  
     "Oh! What about Captain Fish!" The one in regulation blue chimed.  
     "Flowers dipshit."  
     "Yes, right! Captain Flowers! He turned into a fish."  
The absolute fuck..."A fish?"  
The soldier in teal responded, "No asshole. He turned into a seal and died." He pointed to a little rock next to Blue Base. "He's buried over there. Don't think you'll get much from him now. And he can't have his armor back."  
Holy shit...Florida. Then Project Alpha was around here unprotected.  
Great.  
He heard movement to his left and saw a sniper rifle pointed at his head.  
     "Dude! If you give me the sniper rifle, I could hit him. You couldn't make the shot if he put the barrel between his eyes."  
With an exasperated sigh, he lowered the weapon and groaned. "What do you want?"  
Wash now didn't know what to do really. He was contracted by the military project that took over for Freelancer to bring in Maine dead or alive, but now? Alpha was in this camp unguarded. He knew it was a person, but which?  
     "Freelancer has fallen. I'm picking up the broke pieces. A rampaging polar bear, a sociopath with tech, and God knows what Agent Texas-"  
     "Tex?" the Blue Commander looked up.  
There you are.  
     "Do you know where she is?" His voice broke a little.  
Holy shit, he actually cared for someone.  
     "If Flo- I mean Flowers isn't here to protect you, she must be watching from somewhere close. My scent may lure her here and possibly the polar bear too."  
     "So you know?"  
     "I have an idea of what is going on."  
     "This is awesome!" The dark blue one picked up Wash a gigantic hug that made his armor creak, scaring him a little. "We have a new team mate!"  
This apparently didn't bode well with the Red Commander, "What! I blink and there is another damn dirty blue in my canyon!" Shotgun readied yet again at his face.  
Trying to smooth things over, "Not blue! This is a ceasefire! Until I get my polar bear or we catch Texas."  
The old man harrumphed and lowered the gun, again. "Fine. But step out of line..."  
     "Shotgun to the face, I gather."  
He grunted his agreement.  
     "Alright, so that is all out in the open. I'm Tucker. That dipshit is Caboose-"  
     "Hello!"  
     "Sergeant Slaughter over there is Sarge, his loyal kiss ass Simmons, and there's a fat ass in orange they call Grif, probably ate himself to death like Pizza the Hut or something. And this asshole that has the sniper rifle that he still doesn't know how to fucking use, is Church."  
     "Church...rings a bell."  
     "Fuck you. And you're not bunking with us."  
Somehow, Wash felt Caboose pout. "Aw, but Church! I'll walk him and feed him!"  
     "No Caboose! He's a Freelancer! Not a fucking dog." He stopped berating his subordinate long enough "Wait, which one are you?"  
He hesitated, "The wolf."  
     "Yeah, fuck that. You're Washington and you're staying at Red Base."  
     "My scent might lure Texas out."  
     "And welcome to Blue Base! Lights out when the solar generator dies and we get up when the fucking thing kicks back on."  
Sarge laughed, "Solar? That garbage doesn't work! That's why we use clean burning diesel."  
     "And that's why we go to bed before 7pm."  
     "Are you disagreeing with me son?"  
     "No sir! Diesel is wonderful sir! Can you call me son again? Sir?"

They began to leave for their respective bases. Wash followed Church and his crack team...to what looked like a crack den.  
     "How the hell?"  
     "What? Oh yeah, maid hasn't came around yet."  
     "How do you get anything done?"  
     "Again...we don't. It's like heaven, if Caboose wasn't here or any other of these fuckwits."  
He snorted at the amount of dust and began to take off his armor with the rest of them.  
     "Christ dude..." Tucker saw his back.  
     "What can I say, chicks dig scars." He went back to being a dork when it came to his insecurities. "And as you can see, I'm rolling in women." He grunted as he pulled some fatigues out of his pack.

Wash waited till the others went to bed before confronting Church.  
He sat across from him at the table, "So...Tex you call her."  
Church scrubbed viciously at his hair and made an annoyed moan. "Her name is Beta. We were cloned at the same time and grew up together." With a bored expression, he leaned on his hand. "The super soldier bull shit messed me up and almost killed me, probably because I got the shit end of the DNA stick. She got through it fine and they put her in Freelancer. She came back to see me a few times, but things were getting sketchy and they...they ruined her. When Freelancer fell, I expected her to come for me. Flowers said she would come back. She never did." He looked out of the window.  
He was heartbroken.  
No wonder he was always pissed off.

~

Carolina's eyes went wide and she head cocked her to the side, "He looks...and Church?"  
With his nervous twitch of rubbing the back of his head, "I'm kind of a clone of the Director, Doctor Leonard Church. I just go by his name because it's better than being called Alpha. Sounds stupid when I say it. I guess it is more because I'm an egomaniac, which is totally his fucking fault."  
The words choked in her throat. "No..." Looking towards Wash for help.  
She looked as if she was drowning and Wash was playing keep away with the only life line. "The Director is Carolina's father."  
     "How about that! I have a daughter?" He looked up cheerfully, "And without the sex and STD's. Sweet!"  
     "You're nothing like my father!" She stood up and ran out of the room in shock, finding her way upstairs to the roof.  
     "Not with that attitude young lady!" He called out after her. Eyes gleaming in mirth and mouthing 'You're welcome' to Wash.  
     "You know, I was halfway hoping she would say," trying to mimic a feminine voice, "that's not true! That's impossible!' or something like that."  
Anger slide back into place. "Seriously? I'm surrounded by fucking nerds." Huffing, he dropped down into the chair with a clang of his metal ass on the metal chair. "Needed her out so I could say this. Bone her already."  
     "Wait, what?" He needed more booze. "She hates me!"  
     "What makes you say that?"  
     "She uses my name like a curse word and she hit me in the balls with a grappling hook!"  
     "That's foreplay." He laughed a little, "Let me tell you the first time I took Tex on a date..."  
     "She literally just found out her long time boyfriend died! Besides, I'm still upset because she killed my girlfriend!"  
     "Who?"  
     "Connie...Connecticut. She was caught in spying and the Director sent in Carolina."  
     "Shit dude. One, the Director made that call. Two, Texas was the one that killed her. I know because that was the last time I saw her and how upset she was about it. Not because she had to kill her, but because Carolina defied a direct order from the Director and wanted to bring her in." Church remembered that day, it wasn't pleasant. He agreed with Carolina's call and Tex roared at him. She would do anything the Director asked of her. His still felt like razor blades skimming across his heart when he thought of that day when she stormed out of the lab to never see him again. "I'm telling you dude, Carolina isn't bad. She was just played like Tex is. Just think about it."  
Wash put his face in his hands and moaned. The blush run down his neck and settled between his shoulder blades. "You can't be serious."  
     "Did you know that when you guys did something stupid like- I don't know the chow hall incident...she got punished too? I'm just saying, cut her some slack. She's been through hell too." Standing up and looking down at him, "We kind of all been through hell and it isn't going to get easier." Church scratched the back of his head and slide is helmet on. "When team assignments were put in, you know who she would choose every time?"  
Wash quirked an eyebrow up.  
     "You. She always had you to keep her six."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina is breaking. Everything she knew is gone or a lie. Now, she must fight a war within herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maine Polar Bear  
> North Dakota: Brown Bear  
> South Dakota: Lion  
> Carolina and York: Vampire  
> Washington: Wolf  
> Connecticut and Florida: Selkie  
> Wyoming: Snow Leopard  
> Texas: ???

~  
Under the knife I surrendered  
The innocence yours to consume  
You cut it away  
And you filled me up with hate  
Into the silence you sent me  
Into the fire consumed  
You thought I'd forget  
But it's always in my head

Monster ~ Starset  
~

 

She sat on the top of the base not knowing what to do next. So much had been dropped onto her lap. She wanted to scream, kick, kill something or someone...God she was hungry. She couldn't remember the last time she ate.  
As if reading her thoughts, a small bag of cheerios landed on her lap. Looking up a little miffed but grateful, she saw Wash's face blocking the sun.  
     "He promises to never say that again. But if shooting him makes you feel better, aim for the non vitals." He made an exasperated sound as he sat next to her. "Neither of us signed up for this shit."  
Crunching on her meager meal, "I did. But I did it for my father, who I guess died when my mother did. I gave up my whole life just to make him happy again. Now...now I feel like I enabled him."  
     "You didn't expect this to all happen? If you did, then you are more fucked in the head than I thought."  
     "What do you want from me?" Anger licked her nerves, translating to her face.  
     "I want you to help. I want the right people to pay, the right people helped, and maybe one day...go home." The last one was impossible, but it was good to hope.  
Carolina nodded. Her brewing anger simmered. She was in agreeance. "I have a feeling CT wasn't our only mole. If you think Wyoming killed York..."  
     "More than that. I also think Maine was compromised."  
She stopped eating and scrunched her face. "He had bad headaches."  
     "He went to med bay for tests before the headaches started. After he came back, he had twitches too. I also can't get out of my mind South's teeth-"  
     "Washington, no. Please." She hugged herself and looked down.  
     "No, they were broken trying to take the back of his neck. Lions have a stronger bite force than wolves. Her teeth were busted. I bet it was metal but stronger than our armor. I think he was being controlled by something." Stopping in his analysis and new thought appeared. He turned towards her looking her dead in the eye, "Carolina, what day is it?"  
     "What kind of question is that?"  
     "A really fucking important one."  
     "I don't know day, but sometime around May 2552?"  
Stunned. He had no air to breath. "It's July 19th, 2553. You have been gone a year. Where did you go?"  
Her hands began to shake. She lost a whole year. Where did she go? "I woke up at a base south of where we were stationed, Wind Powered faculty I think. I was cold and wet and I needed to find Texas." Holding her head in her hands as if a massive headache was coming on "I have to find Texas. She is the key...the key."  
Carolina began shaking uncontrollably and suddenly went limp. Wash scrambled to keep her from falling, struggling to wake her again.

~

     "That is not what I bloody signed up for!"  
The voice was familiar. Wyoming? She only knew a handful of British people and he was the closest one on this planet as far as she knew.  
Trying to open her eyes was impossible. Tape was securing them as she felt like floating. A rehabilitation tank?  
Was she hurt?  
The screaming, the growling...Maine changed.  
He broke the protocol. They were supposed to suppress the urges to change. She heard South was testing a hypothesis or rule breaking by half changes. Claimed she could turn her fist into her animal form and really rip shit up.  
If the Director found out, it would be the brig...or zoo, for her.  
     "You were paid handsomely to get what was stolen from us. I have scientist on the inside, but living subjects are far more beneficial. They cannot get data like this out"  
Carolina felt him, whomever he was tapping on the glass causing a vibration to carry through her body. "Kill the others or I'll have the bear kill you. He is quite hungry."  
She heard Wyoming sigh, "Bullocks." His heavy footfall retreating out of the room.  
     "Yes, lovely little subject. This will make up for my factory being destroyed. That bastard has cost me dearly." He began to hum while shuffling pages. "I'll take you apart bit by bit and find out why that bastard got it to work and I didn't. They'll find you eventually here and there." He didn't laugh, just kept flipping though the notes humming.  
Panic began to shake Carolina to her core. She was locked in a tank, but this wasn't like a rehabilitation tank. When you woke, you could move.  
This was different.  
A stasis tank?  
Just move...just move!  
Nothing would budge. Her mind was active, taking in sounds. Would that mean she would feel them dissecting her too?  
Why wasn't anyone helping her? Were the others in here too? But the man said to kill them. She was alone.  
She tried to swallow the huge knot forming in her throat, but even that reflex was numb.

~

Church and Washington took turns watching Carolina as she tossed and moaned on the cot. Night was fast approaching and they were both at a loss. Church decided to bunk with the others, Caboose happy for a sleepover to the other's dismay.

     "Carolina?" Wash began to dab her face with a cool cloth. The fever made her burn and shiver, a war within her body.  
What did they do to you?  
Her breath hitched and exhaled slowly. Blinking up slowly from the fever fog, "Wa..."  
     "Hey...welcome ba-" He words were cut short as she grabbed him around the throat. His eyes went wide as she tightened her grip unholy screams welled up from her throat. She threw him against a wall clawing at her arms as she began to twitch and writhe.  
She began to change.  
He didn't know vampires had a second form. Neither apparently did she. Ears elongated as her teeth became daggers, hanging from her mouth in a snarl. Those once verdant eyes erupted in a raging wild fire as she threw anything she could get her hands on. Screams of rage and pain filled the room.

She was terrified.  
Loss of control was foreign too her and she was so far off the deep end that she was drowning. Garbled words from across the room tried to soothe her. She looked down at her hands and began to cry. Slumping down on the floor, Carolina dropped her head in her hands and began to rock back and forth in a fetal position.  
Calm. Must become calm. Panic makes it hurt more.  
A soft touch on her shoulder, "Breath. You're okay."  
She was not. She knew what happened.  
The lost time. The experiments.  
The thing on her neck.  
With a sorrowful moan, she began to claw the back of her neck. "Owwt....owwt..." Her mouth couldn't form the words. She had to get the damn thing out.  
Blood welled up and ran down her back as she tore into herself.  
Panicked concern overwhelmed Wash, "Let me see! Stop moving!" Strong hands held her down and pushed her head forward into his lap. His fingers were warm on her chilling skin. She shuddered and clicked her teeth together. His scent, she breathed in, Home...he smells like home.  
He flicked out his knife and began to cut till he felt a piece of metal. "Bingo." He began to pull it out slowly. It made a sickening slurp as he freed little metal box from her neck. A wire tugged up further attached somewhere behind her skull. He stopped pulling out of fear of hurting her more. Her deformed hand grabbed his and yanked the wires free from they were attached to, ripping bits of bone and skin with it.  
Blind rage hit her as she pushed Wash away.  
Running on primal instincts, she attacked. Biting, slashing, and punching at anything that came close to her. Wash grabbed her shoulders, taking a few smacks and cuts as she fought back.  
     "Calm down. Remember who you are!"  
She growled and aimed a bite at his throat only getting his arm when he threw it up for defense. She bit down, clamping down till she hit bone. He grunted, biting his own lip as he tried to pry her mouth open. Thinking on his feet, he grabbed her nose in hopes that lack of air would make her release. All living creatures needed air. Hopefully, she was still on the side of the living.  
Luck was on his side for once as she broke free. Kicking her far away from himself as possible, he backed up and felt for the door. Slowly he inched his way out, never breaking eye contact with the she beast growling from the corner.

He quickly pulled his last exposed half through the door and slammed it shut. Sliding down, he exhaled the breath he was holding. Absently running a hand thought his hair; he looked up to three fully armed soldiers with guns trained on the door.  
     "Hey...um...she's awake." His sentence was ended with a fist almost busting through the steel door.  
     "No shit." Tucker dropped his weapon to his side. "Dude, if this Tex chick is anything like her- I think I'm out."  
Another loud bang on the door accentuated with a bellow. Wash opened his hand to look at the little silver box. He squeezed and it didn't give.  
This is what Maine had, but probably way bigger. He didn't want to test a tooth on the theory and just went with gut instinct. He needed something hard to break it open. Flipping it in hands, "Caboose, you think you can open this up for me?"  
     "You sure you want him to do that? What if he breaks it?"  
     "That's what I'm counting on."  
Flipping between his fingers, Caboose looked at the box with little scrutiny. He looked down at Wash on the floor for confirmation. With a nod and like that, he crushed it in his hands and tore out the blinking chip inside.  
     "What the fuck is that thing?"  
Taking the chip back, "It means all hell is going to break loose." Carolina screeched and began clawing the door; the metal screamed killing his ears. "More hell is going to break loose."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina remembers. Cheerios are ruined forever but at least they have Patches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maine Polar Bear  
> North Dakota: Brown Bear  
> South Dakota: Lion  
> Carolina and York: Vampire  
> Washington: Wolf  
> Connecticut and Florida: Selkie  
> Wyoming: Snow Leopard  
> Texas: ???

~  
All my life they let me know  
How far I would not go  
But inside the beast still grows waiting  
Chewing through the ropes

Carnivore - Starset  
~

 

Dawn took her sweet ass time to come around. Wash sat back against the door diligently listening to Carolina's rampage slowly running out. By the time the sun peered into the canyon, she was spent and quiet.  
The others decided to bunk in the main room till it was safe. Caboose was as usual the first to wake. He warmed up a couple of MREs and sat down and made Wash eat.  
There was a familiar kindness that Wash missed after loosing his team mates. Someone always watching over you.  
He took it all for granted, like they were going to be around forever.  
The others in the main hall began to stir...if you considered slamming cabinets and stomping like elephants stirring.  
     "Okay, I'm going to check on Carolina and you can do run downs on the equipment." He didn't know who he was talking to as long as one of them managed to acknowledge him. "I might need someone help me draw blood."  
     "Take Caboose's, he won't miss it." Church edged around him to get to the weapon's locker.  
     "I meant me-"  
     "I cleaned up your arm; pretty sure she got enough from you." He chuckled as he began to put on his armor. "Might have a syringe in the med kit, but I'm pretty sure it would just be easier to stick his arm through the door."  
Something protective licked at Wash's insides. "No...Not directly, just if he agrees to it. The syringe that is."  
Of course he agreed to it. Caboose had an ability to want to please people that outranked Wash's ten fold. Looking at his background, he found the kid had an immensely high IQ, just low brain activity kept him running at a barely functioning level than normal. Granted, everyone in the canyon was smart in their own ways, just really fucking lazy with no motivation.  
Going through the checklist on his mind, he absently rubbed the now healed bite Carolina gave him.  
First, he needed to get Carolina functioning again. Then, see if Simmons could make heads or tails of the chip. Lastly, get the hell out of Dodge. Sounded simple enough. He knew that it wasn't going to go that way. He didn't put 'find who is controlling us' on the list.  
Baby steps.  
Tucker put the blood into a glass and handed it off to him.  
     "How much did you take?"  
Church shrugged, "All of it?"  
From the main room, "I feel dizzy...I'ma lay down now." Followed by a loud crashing sound.  
     "Could you at least get him a pillow?"  
Exasperated, "Fine, fucking babies."  
     "And don't suffocate him with it!"  
     "Killjoy!"  
If this is what rising teenagers felt like, no wonder his father was gray at thirty. Six girls and himself probably wore his father down to an old man quickly.  
Opening the door slowly till he could see where Carolina was, Wash took in the state of the rampage. Everything was smashed in the small room, including Carolina. She was curled tightly; face down on the cold paved floor. Her hair was in disarray, showing stark red against the dark gray concrete and there was very little left of her stealth suit.  
Clearing his throat, he quietly entered the room and kneeled down next to her stilled form. Gently lifting her hair off the back of her neck, he noticed the soft pink healing from quick surgical procedure.  
     "Carolina, earth to Carolina?"  
He heard soft snuffle and then a long groan. Her throat was raw and her body ached.  
Helping her to a sitting position, he offered the cup of blood to her twitching nose. She gulped it down greedily until it dawned on her.  
     "It's okay. You didn't hurt anyone."  
She finished the glass and shuddered. "What happened?"  
Wash offered with a sigh, "Good news or bad news?"  
     "Bad?" She winced as she spoke. Her head pounded along with other parts of her body.  
     "You went bat shit crazy."  
She slowly nodded while taking in the scene, "I did this..."  
     "Good news is you didn't turn into a bat." He chuckled lightly. "You have no clue how much I was expecting to see you hanging upside down from the rafter wrapped up in your leathery wings." He crossed his arms over his chest for effect.  
It was no comfort.  
Smooth one Wash...  
Horror flitted across her face as she shoved the empty cup into Wash's chest.  
     "I mean nothing wrong with bats. Bats are very important to the ecosystem...and fruit bats look like little puppies with wings...and I am going to shut up now." He hung his head down with a long exhale.  
     "Nice to see you still do the nervous banter, be it one sided." She gave a soft sigh. What happen to that cute rookie she was so used to bumbling around. His hair was long and scruffy; not the clean military cut he sported. Eyes were cold and distant, always darting around like he was waiting for a bomb to go off. Apparently, she was the bomb that went off.      "So," she cleared her throat, "what can a bat do around here to get some clothing?"  
He jumped up sharply, "Oh yeah. Don't want to give Tucker anything to use at his special rock for."  
     "Special rock?"  
He turned and looked down at her, "Yeah...don't ask don't tell?" Putting out a hand, she tentatively put hers in his as Wash slowly lifted her up. His hands stayed in place even after she was stable on her feet.  
A few seconds went by and she cleared her throat, "Clothes please?"  
Nervously flitting around, "Oh right, yes." Looking around, he finally spotted his duffle kindly deposited under the crushed nightstand. Grabbing out a soft shirt and a pair of running shorts, he handed them off to her.  
He stood there as she arched an eyebrow. "Turn around?"  
He stammered and quickly turned around. "Sorry about the smell, Blues lost their washing unit to a grenade detonation and Red Team's gave up the will to live even after Sarge and Simons worked on it to make it...better."  
She came up beside him, glancing sideways with the collar over her nose hiding a small smile. "It isn't too bad." Looking shyly down, "Reminds me of home a little."  
That warm electric feeling licked at Wash's spine until his brain kicked in. When did he start liking Carolina? Damn Church and his meddling. Clearing his throat, he shook it off and made his way to the commons area.  
Caboose was passed out on the floor in full armor; at least he had a pillow under his head.  
     "Is he?"  
     "Caboose! Status report!"  
He softly moaned then slowly croaked out "Tucker did it." Followed by a soft snore.  
Shrugging, Wash grabbed a baggie and handed it to Carolina as she sat down at the table.  
     "I'm guessing this is normal?"  
     "Freelancer, no. Frontlines, no...Here, pretty much standard."  
     "You were on the front?"  
Crossing his arms over his chest, "Yes. As in all conflicts, it didn't end well. Freelancer was literally my last chance."  
Now more awake, Carolina caught the sight of the torn bloody sleeve that she was guess was her fault. "You said I didn't hurt anyone." She tried to reach for him.  
Shrugging and sitting down in front of her. "I am no one." Rolling up the sleeve to show her it was fine, flexing his fingers for her to see. "Besides, healed up already. A new scar for my collection." He leaned back in the chair as Tucker came in with box of armor parts.  
     "I got what I could that might fit. Not sure if the helmet works though." He dropped the box on the floor next to Caboose who didn't even move but made smacking sounds as the only sign of life. He turned and looked over at Carolina "Dude, you're letting her eat that crap?"  
     "She likes cheerios."  
     "Wait. How did you know I like cheerios?" It just dawned on her that it was the second time he gave them to her.  
Scratching the back of his head and then letting his hand fall over his face, "York kind of told everyone the story about the cheerio Speedo he made for your birthday."  
She stopped chewing. Carolina didn't know if she was mortified or incensed.  
     "We use those things for target practice."  
Swallowing the now dried oaty lump down. "I'm guessing not as a target to see who can hit it at the greatest distance."  
     "No way, we put them in the toilet and piss on them."  
     "Of course you do."  
     "Yeah, Church is a shit shot. It's like his dick is ran by Windows ME." He laughed as he left the room.  
Wash chuckled and looked at her stunned expression, "They grow on you."  
     "Like a tumorous growth I'm guessing."  
     "So, back to the beginning. What the fuck happened and-" Looking up at the roof, "how about you join us instead of eavesdropping, asshole!"  
Jumping down from his perch, Church came into the room and sat down. He was still peeved about the Windows ME crack.  
Wash muttered under his breath which was met with a middle finger from Church.  
Clearing her throat, "I was getting ready to leave for a mission to check on Valhalla, the Charon Research Base. The radio picked up weird transmission, but since it wasn't one of our bases we were supposed to stay out of it.  
     "I was just supposed to do a simple recon when I got ripped off the mongoose by a giant polar bear. As I said, his teeth didn't penetrate my neck because I wore a gorget and I got thrown into the ravine after I hit his nose. I don't know how or where I was, but I was in a tranc tube. My mind was awake and I could feel, but I couldn't move or scream. They even taped my eyes shut. I heard Wyoming talking about payment and he was told to kill everyone else he could.  
     "Everyday they cut me up or worked some other experiment." Her breath began to stutter, she didn't want to remember those details, "The head scientist I think I heard him before, kept saying there was nothing more to learn from me and just to cut me up and throw me back into the ravine. An assistant spoke up and suggested putting a controller on me and use me to find Texas. Whatever the Director turned her into, they want what she has." Looking up at Church, "They dropped me off at the Wind Powered Facility and programmed me to find Texas."  
Church's knuckles were white as he focuses at her words. "Son of a bitch."  
     "I don't know why I ended up here. Just felt a magnetic pull and followed it."  
They sat in silence. Things were bad before, but now it was overwhelming. Whoever turned Wyoming has Maine being controlled. Texas was out there probably hunting Wyoming and here he was with a ragtag group of physically enhanced soldiers without direction and a confirmed dead Freelancer somehow alive and kicking. He had worse odds.  
"Alright, here is the plan. Carolina needs to clean up and Church, help with her armor. I'll take the chip to Simmons and see if he can pull up anything like a manufacture or even a home location to the GPS. Caboose can help fix the broken helmet and Tucker can load up the warthog. Hopefully, I can get the Reds to assist and leave just encase this place is bombarded with soldiers." Sarge always wanted to go down in a fight, Wash just didn't want it because of something he did.

Church showed Carolina where the bathroom was. He leaned on the doorframe and waited for it.  
     "Oh my God!" She held a hand over her mouth in horror. What could be taken as wall to wall carpeting was really wall to wall mold. Wall to ceiling was more like it.  
     "Don't look at it too long, except the one that looks like a kitten. That one's great."  
     "This isn't a bathroom! It's a terrarium! How do you get clean?"  
     "We don't really, don't look on the inside of our armor. Really nasty."  
She for the life of her couldn't walk in there, but she needed the shower. "I think I'll use the sink in the kitchen."  
     "I'm just fucking with you, we use the outside unit. Seriously, I think this is the first time I opened the door since Wash came here." He laughed evilly.  
     "You are seriously an asshole."  
     "Hey, it's all part of my charm. Guess it's genetic." He shrugged.  
She was beginning to hate that joke.

The bathroom slash laundry room had been sealed off since the accident involving a very clogged toilet and three inept soldiers who thought a flash bang could clear it.  
It did not.  
With the high humidity and the leak, mold ran rampant and left the whole room inhabitable. Caboose named the growth Patches and it became the team pet. Simmons even came by on occasion to test samples and measure the growth. Grif tried to eat some of it; he concluded that it was too healthy tasting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mysterious chip is analysed and it isn't what any of them thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maine Polar Bear  
> North Dakota: Brown Bear  
> South Dakota: Lion  
> Carolina and York: Vampire  
> Washington: Wolf  
> Connecticut and Florida: Selkie  
> Wyoming: Snow Leopard  
> Texas: ???

~  
Oh, all the fools rush in  
It's a battle to surround you  
And all the fools want in  
But I'm not giving up

Telepathic - Starset  
~

 

Wash strode up the ridge and stopped short, "What tha?"  
Red Base was sealed up, bomb shutters down and the usual sentries hidden inside.  
He did what an idiot would do; he knocked on the front shutter, "Sarge?"  
     "Washington! You survived the harpy attack last night?" He grunted.  
     "I need to talk to Simmons, open the blast shields."  
     "No can do Blue. Not with that chupa-thingy out there, these doors stayed shut. Unless..."  
     "Unless what?" He was tired and this shit could go in circles all day.  
     "Unless you know the password!"  
     "Password?" He heard Sarge grumble as the doors opened for him. "Wait...what was the password?"  
Grif greeted him, sort off "That is the password." He gave a bored sigh. "What do you want?" There was a clearing of throat behind him, "Oh yeah...you damned dirty Blue."  
Holding up the chip, "I pulled out of...the harpy and was hoping Simmons could hook it up to a scanner to see where it came from."  
This got Simmons attention. All the fun he had lately was measuring the mold growths and how much Grif could eat before the inevitable coma. That and D&D sessions by candlelight, he at least thought they were romantic.  
     "Let me see!" He held the chip between his fingers gently.  
     "Chill out Frodo, it isn't a ring." Grif walked back inside.  
Simmons glared at him and then looked back at the chip. "I might be able to hook it up to something." Clambering to his room/ workshop/ mad scientist lair, "Come on back, you said the password already. Now you're like family."  
Sarge made some disgruntled remarks under his breath and left to stand guard outside his room just incase there was some Blue trickery afoot.

Simmons switched on some monitors and began digging in a box for some wires. Using his techno wizard magic, the computer was scanning the chip in no time. He was supposed to be on the science team with Project Freelancer, but the head scientist being female turned poor Simmons into a simpering ball of goo and ended his career leaving him in Blood Gulch.  
The computer beeped and something came over the speakers.  
     "Hello?" A bright female voice came through.  
Simmons squeaked and looked over at Wash.  
     "Doctor Grey?"  
     "Agent Washington! I knew you would figure it out! That's why I plugged in the coordinates to where you were bunkered down. Is she okay?"  
     "She is doing better, taking the shock of being a test subject for a year rather well."  
Simmons snorted, "If screaming like a banshee throughout the night is what you think is 'doing well' than yeah."  
     "Simmons!"  
     "Yes-ss-ss ma'am!"  
She laughed and then got serious fast, "I don't have time. I'm waiting by my extraction point. From what I gathered, the Director stole some very important DNA from Charon. They thought that it was Carolina who got it because we know how much the Director," she cleared her throat, "gave her the best of everything. Now, from what I'm finding out is that Texas got the DNA and they want her because they could never get it to work.  
     "I transferred to Charon as a double agent. The fall of Freelancer was their revenge but it also backfired on them. What Texas can do with the enhanced DNA is more than any of us thought-" She stopped short.  
The audio cut out before he could ask another question.  
     "Can you get any information off the chip, a where, a what...anything?"  
     "Give me one minute."  
Typing out some commands, he began chasing codes and finally found something. "Looks like the GPS home is Valhalla. That was defiantly one of Charon's Research Bases here. Even I heard on the radios that they were pulling out but none of the usual squabbling that you usually hear when they do leave."  
     "So they are still there and Dr. Grey is hopefully getting extracted. I need to see what is going on myself."  
     "Alone?"  
He sighed, "I can't risk getting anyone hurt." He looked down at Simmons, "You just want to snag some tech don't you?"  
     "My memory cards are so outdated."  
     "It'll be dangerous."  
     "On second thought, I can make due." He began working again. After a minute of frantic keyboard taps, "I can't find anything else. If this was a mind control chip, then it was wiped clean and all that's left is the radio she set up and our location. Is there anything she can't do?"  
     "Apparently, staying out of trouble for one thing. Thank you for the help."  
Before he turned to leave the computer made a feminine squealing noise.  
     "I'm back! Where was I? Yes!"  
     "Grey?" Wash looked back confused.  
     "Yes silly, who else would have this number?" She laughed at her own joke. "As I was saying, Texas is in danger, physically and mentally. She and Alpha were both supposed to have the DNA but he failed the enhancement trials and nearly died. I worked on his cybernetics myself. They were supposed to be some Adam and Eve that would be the next step in human evolution, but it didn't work out that way.  
     "Texas is...getting confused, I do believe the Councilor was treating her and was making it worse. Now, as we speak, the head scientist is on Chorus trying to get the genetic codes to work. If they get Texas, it would make their job so much easier."  
     "So, get Texas and keep her away from the crazy scientist. Sounds simple enough."  
     "Actually, I need you to get my hard drive from my office in Valhalla and get it to the Freelance Storage Facility. You'll need Alpha to open the doors and put it in lock down to keep intruders out since he has the same imprint as the Director. You'll be safe there for a few days at least unless they are monitoring it closely. Now, with the hard drive, Simmons will have to break into it and get all the information off of it."  
     "I can?"  
     "Why do you think you're there silly? You might think you are a rag tag band of misfits, but you were all chosen for the fallback plan. First, get the files. Everything you need will be there. I backed up everything before I left and everything I learned here."  
     "But, how did you get out of the facility?"  
Her chuckle that turned a little dark, "Well, poison the food and no one notices you leaving. Now, if you'll excuse me, my ride is about to hit the atmosphere and our connection will brake. I'll see you all again. Bye!"  
Sarge looked around the corner, "She sounds...pleasant."

 

Carolina tried getting into the armor the Blues provided, but it was tailored for a male build, even if Church was a bit on the more slender side compared to Tucker and Caboose, some parts slid off, other parts wouldn't even click on and heaven help her when they tried getting the cod piece on over her hips.  
     "I really appreciate this you guys, but it isn't going to work." She pushed down on the chest piece that was really pissing her off. The shoulders were sticking out and every time she tried to close the latch, her breasts would stick up into her throat. "I think I'll just wear the kevlar and helmet." Even though it didn't fit well either and Tucker spent more time than she liked ogling her ass.  
Coming back from a quick battle strategy with Sarge, Wash took in the sight before him. His former hard assed commander was trying to hold everything on with sheer will alone. His barked laughter didn't help.  
With a frustrated grunt, her helmet careened off his chest and smashed into Tucker as he was trying to disguise his leering by bending down and looking at the warthog's tires.  
     "Got any good news...and nothing to do with bats this time?"  
Clearing his throat, "Um...yes, well the chip was a communication device with Dr. Grey."  
     "Dr. Grey?" Church perked up.  
     "Seems she was deep undercover at Valhalla and needs someone to get her files to Freelancer Storage."  
Dropping off the gauntlets from her arms with a thud, "Great, I'll go with you."  
     "No, you will help get the others to the Freelancer Storage and Church will get it open. I need a sniper to watch my back and Grif is the only one here."  
Tucker laughed, "That lazy prick's a sniper!? Wouldn't Church be better since he has the sniper rifle?"  
     "They have to hold position for long periods of time, meaning lazy is a good quality. Plus, it's helpful if they could actually hit something."  
     "You can go fuck yourself there buddy." He mumbled something about the sight being messed with.  
     "You're taking the whole being 'useless' pretty well Carolina." Tucker tried buffing out the paint marks from his helmet.  
     "I understand, without armor, I am pretty useless." She growled the last part, "I don't have to like it though."  
     "Think of it this way, they might have some of your armor stored there. It won't be long. Dr. Grey said that she dispatched the base and was being extracted as we spoke."  
     "I hate to think how she 'dispatched' them. Last I saw her; she was quite prolific in torture techniques along with cybernetics."  
     "Shit, she's the one who made R2FU?"  
     "Yes and the one who got Carolina out apparently. Not without a few dissections here and there."  
     "Nice. I should get her some flowers and chocolates as a thank you."  
     "Might be awhile for that, she is heading towards Chorus chasing the ghosts of Charon." Wash began to make his way back into the base to grab his gear, dropping his helmet on the counter out of a very bad habit living with the Blues for so long.  
Carolina followed, "Chorus, but the war? It isn't safe to travel through that sector." She stopped for a second, forgetting she was a year off from everyone around her. "The war is over isn't it?"  
     "We are in a very fragile peace right now. Zealots on both sides cause trouble from time to time, but things are looking better."  
     "So...we meet you over at this storage place and you get to steal something with Grif watching your back. Why does this sound too easy?" Tucker grabbed a bag to stuff what little food they had.  
     "And you just saying that just cursed us!" She gave Tucker the stink eye which usually made a normal man cower.  
He was not normal and just shrugged it off.  
Carolina peered into the doorway and watched as Wash collected his things. She tried to tidy up the room since she was the one responsible for destroying it earlier. "You're so different now."  
     "How so?"  
She tried to word her response carefully, "You're showing good qualities of being a leader."  
He snorted, "Too bad I didn't have good examples." He knew it was the wrong thing to say and felt bad when he finished. He looked up from the broken bed frame and didn't see her standing there anymore. "Smooth one. Just got to make things worse." He laced his pack and slung it over his shoulder.

 

     "Is this everything?" Carolina wondered back outside, a little more flush than usual. His comment hit her hard. She had to be a hard ass, but she never ordered them anything that she couldn't or wouldn't do herself. That's what made a good leader right?  
Looking over the storage compartments, Tucker snapped his fingers. "Almost forgot Sheila!"  
     "Sheila?" She screwed her eyes at him, "Do I even want to know?"  
     "Aw man, Church didn't tell you. Okay, get this. That asshole likes to shoot at my special rock while I'm at it." Leaning against the large tire, "So, I waited for when his hand gets buggy and he takes it off for Simmons to fix. I tricked Simmons into giving it to me and I painted the hand like a face. Church is on the rampage looking for it and I come out from my rock with 'Sheila' and I tease him with it. Now, Simmons hates me which is worth it and Church hates me which is also so fucking worth it."  
     "What...what is wrong with you people?"  
     "Look at it out here. It's fucking boring. You either do soldier shit all day or you fuck with each other." He shrugged and slammed the hatch down. "Fucking with each other just seems more entertaining. You guys in Freelancer never pranked each other?"  
Carolina didn't engage in the shenanigans, that was more York and North's area of expertise. If she ever did something fun, she would probably be reprimanded immediately by the Director for not being a proper team leader. What they were doing was serious and there was no room for games.  
She wasn't even invited by anyone but York to drink, and when she showed up, the party always ended. She accepted her role as an authority figure, even on off hours when they could kickback and enjoy themselves, just not in front of her. She chalked it up to the suffering of the commander; guess she was doing that wrong too.  
     "Why are you telling me this?"  
He shrugged, "You look like you need a laugh. Knowing what people need is like my gift or something. That and when a woman needs some good lovin'. I can take care of that itch too baby."  
She snorted in shock.  
Church grunted as he threw his pack on the back of the jeep, "Alright, what did you say that made Carolina look like she swallow the green part of Patches?"  
     "Just telling her that I'm here for her sexually."  
     "Dude! Tha fuck is wrong with you!?" Church began shrieking about her being his relative.  
     "So that means she's a Church too! I haven't came to church in a long time...wait, that came out wrong."  
     "Goddamn it dude!"  
She lost it. She laughed so hard that her face was red, her cheeks were sore, and tears ran from her eyes. Carolina couldn't remember the last time she laughed like that. 

Gently closing the tool box, Caboose promised them that they would all stay together and to not worry. He glanced at Wash who was standing by the window with a pensive look on his face. "You aright Agent Washington?"  
     "Hmm? Oh, yeah Caboose. Just weird seeing Carolina laugh." He cleared his throat and tried to look away. She was hugging herself as she tried to stop, but the antics of Church and Tucker kept her on the verge of falling on the ground.  
     "Maybe, you're just used to her being an authoritarian figure that wasn't allowed to have fun. Maybe she would have been different if she got to join in on your reindeer games."  
     "That was quite...cognitive of you Caboose."  
     "Yeah...sometimes you need a new perspective. That's what friends are for." He picked up the case and headed out the door with the rest of the crew.  
     "Life advice from Caboose. How far you have fallen." He whispered to himself.

They all met at the middle ground for one last discussion before departing. He hated separating everyone, but with Carolina leading them to the storage facility, he knew they would make it at least on a timely manner. Donning camo capes, Grif and Wash left first leaving the others to figure out seating arrangements. He hoped it wouldn't take hours like most of their fights. They needed to be at the Freelancer storage and out of Blood Gulch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> R2FU is probably my favorite joke currently.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malarky ensues. Carolina finds herself at the bottom of a box and Washington has a cat problem.  
> *Fight scene warning*  
> *Grif makes an uncultured joke. I listen to Geoff too much on Achievement Hunter- so blame him.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maine Polar Bear  
> North Dakota: Brown Bear  
> South Dakota: Lion  
> Carolina and York: Vampire  
> Washington: Wolf  
> Connecticut and Florida: Selkie  
> Wyoming: Snow Leopard  
> Texas: ???

~  
Knives in the backs of martyrs  
Lives in the burning fodder  
Cauterized and atrophied  
This is my unbecoming

Unbecoming - Starset  
~

 

Carolina blew the bangs out of her face as the teams were on the verge of rock paper scissors to figure who goes where. Caboose was allowed on the Red's warthog since Tucker and Simmons were still fighting and Sarge didn't trust Church for some asinine reason. On the Blue's warthog, Church wasn't allowed at the turret and Tucker didn't trust him to drive. She offered to drive but Tucker scoffed only to save his ass by saying something along the lines of commanders shouldn't have to drive. She was far too exposed to be by the chain gun in the back so after twenty minutes of arguing, Church finally got to control the gun.  
Caboose walked over to the Red's with his case in hand. "I was told to say...shotgun."  
     "Shot- goddamn it!" Simmons slumped as he begrudgingly hopped onto the back of the warthog as Sarge adjusted the driver seat grumbling about short dirt bags.

After an hour of wrangling, they finally headed out to the storage facility.  
Carolina felt naked without her armor. The others were communicating with the helmet radios, she was stuck trying to figure out the conversation in between dick jokes and random 'fuck yous' amongst the garbling caused by a still loose wire.  
The ride, be it a short one, felt like it took forever. She kept looking all around, waiting for some ambush. It was surprising how much the little dinky planet looked like earth. She never really stopped long enough to look around, but it reminded her of the campgrounds her family would take her. They were some of the fond memories she had after her mother passed. Her father plunged himself into work and in simple words abandoned her to his brother's family. Her uncle John reminded her of Church, in the dorky-lighten-the-mood way because life was better lived and not being down pitying oneself. That was the biggest fight she saw between the brothers. Her father ran away into his career and John stood ground and told him Allison would be ashamed.  
John and his wife ran a bakery and they had Carolina learn the family business along with her two cousins. Camping on the weekends when weather permitted and up to your elbows in flour during weekdays. That was the life they expected her to take, but it brought her no joy. The look on her uncle's face when she wanted to pursue her father broke her heart almost as much as seeing her father covered in mud after her mother's funeral.  
She excelled in military school and graduated head of class gaining her choice of commanding a squadron of her own or joining the Freelancer Program.  
That choice was easy for her.  
Carolina would do anything to help him accomplish his goal whatever it was, to make him happy again. She still wasn't sure what it was. His cloning project was news to her ears even though it seemed everyone knew about it. She hoped that Dr. Grey's files would give her some clue into her father's mind. Was he a mad scientist, was he being used, was her father even still in there?  
     "Church?"  
He leaned in towards her over the whipping winds as Tucker drove like a madman. "Yeah?"  
     "What do you remember about the Director? Why did he make you?"  
     "I don't know much about him or why he made us. I know that we were in the tubes for five years, but we came out being about ten years old. Me and Beta kind of grew up together and growing up in a lab with a bunch of military goons and scientist made things...weird. He would never see us, but talk over a microphone to other scientist about us or the trails. We learned at advanced rates, so at fifteen, we were in college type courses. I think he wanted me to carry on his research at first, but then he got some weird DNA from some strange lab- which I'm guessing is Charon's bullshit.  
     "After that, things went to hell. I kept flunking the genetic advancement test; but Beta didn't want to go through the trials alone, so I found a way to fake the markers and passed. It fucked me up bad. My limbs nearly disintegrated and they almost pronounced me brain dead when they quickly hooked me up to a bunch of computers and hacked off the broken shit to keep me alive. Dr. Grey's team did pretty good work and I function pretty much like normal."  
Tucker snorted a laugh  
     "Hey, eyes on the road. Asshole." He sighed and held onto the roll cage. "Beta wasn't the same after that. She felt like it was her fault that I nearly died but when they put that thing in her- and she became 'Texas', I lost her. My best friend was gone." He stood back up as they began to approach the storage facility.  
     "What did you do...I mean after the whole cybernetics thing?"  
     "Eh...just fucked around the labs till they found me something to do. I mainly monitored your team's files, critiquing, finding your strengths and weaknesses. After some time, I was in control of who did what even though I never met any of you.  
     "Have I told you the first time I saw sunshine? We just turned eighteen, and the Councilor thought it would be nice for us to go outside. It was late in the day, maybe an hour before sunset and we headed out topside by the offices. We get out there and it is so warm, like instantly warm. Beta put her hand over her face and the sun filtering through her fingers, her hair glowing from the light like and angel...that's when I fell in love with her." He sighed, "But after that, she wanted out more. She would sneak out and get caught, but the days she didn't get caught- she would bring back things like a leaf or pretty rock. Her little treasures. She got mad because I didn't want to get out. Happy in my cave I guess."  
     "Did they expect you to live on the base forever?"  
     "Probably. I hear the guys talking about stuff from earth, and what can I say; can't miss what you never had. Some days, I miss Beta. Her face when she was so happy because she got praised or when she was angry, which was a fucking lot. I guess...I guess she was never really mine, but I do fucking miss her."  
They came to an abrupt stop by some trees in front of an abandoned looking building.  
     "Well, that's just shitty." Tucker jumped out only to slam against the side of cab as Sarge tried to take him out. "What tha fuck asshole!"  
     "Good try sir!" Simmons chimed.  
     "You'll get him next time." Caboose waved at Church who grunted about whose team is he pulling for.  
     "So, how are we supposed to get in again?" Simmons looked around the dilapidated base.  
They wondered around broken walls and exposed pipes till they came upon a structure in the middle.  
Carolina stepped up to the windowless building, hands on her hips as she assessed the situation. "Well Church, you're the Director's shining legacy."  
     "Me? What about you? You're the freelancer and this is one of your outposts!"  
     "Technically, I have been declared dead...twice now, so I think I'm off the books."  
     "Fucking fantastic." Church leaned against a large tree, jumping like a spooked cat when a panel opened up.  
A feminine mechanical voice chimed "Hello! This is a private facility! Visitors are not welcome. Please leave immediately, or we will be forced to take lethal measures to ensure the safety of our property. You have thirty seconds to comply or die. Have a nice day!"  
     "She seems...pleasant." Sarge grunted.  
     "Hey...um...Filss, it would be great if you didn't fucking kills us and let us in."  
     "Director? I thought you declared the mission a failure and went off the grid."  
     "Yeah, I'm Alpha."  
     "Alpha? You are supposed to be at Blood Gulch till the Director deemed it safe for you to leave."  
     "Yeah, change of plans. Things are getting messed up and we need to fix it."  
     "Oh, that sounds wonderful. If I can be of assistance just ask."  
     "So, can we come in?"  
     "Certainly." The doors opened up behind them, "Please, watch your step."  
The doorway yawned before them, "So. Who's first?"

Again, with anything that involved them as a group- they argued about it. After ten minutes of squabbling, Carolina huffed and went inside. "Filss, can you turn on the lights please."  
     "Certainly. My voice recognition system informs me that you are Agent Carolina. You have been declared dead."  
She cleared her throat, "Yeah, I got that a lot this week."  
     "Welcome back. Do you wish for me to put you back on the register?"  
     "No, I want to keep it a surprise."  
     "As you wish."  
     "Is any of my equipment stored here?"  
     "Why yes, follow the arrows."  
Red lights glowed from the middle of the wall, giving her a pathway to the storage chamber. She heard the others clambering in after her, but with Filss chiding them if they got too close to equipment, she thought they would be fine on their own.  
She needed her armor.  
It was a part of her.  
It completed her.

In a darkened room, she saw a tall stack of metal crates with names on them. "The gang's all here." She sighed and began to push crates together so she could get her crate from the top. They were stacked three high as if Maine put them up there. She was in no state of mind to get a forklift to maneuver things.  
Just get the box. Just get the box. They left you in there. Abandoned you in there.  
Finally, after wrangling for twenty minutes, she sat the box on the ground with a sigh. Undoing the clamps, she slipped it open. She didn't know how to feel.  
There she was in her faded blue glory.  
Agent Carolina, the badass of Freelancer.  
She lovely caressed the helmet, she had finally come home. Pulling out each piece in the order of application, she began to relax. They fit like a glove, made just for her. Little damage was done except for her neck piece. She had no clue where it went when Maine clamped down on her throat. The gorget was made to keep flesh wounds on the neck to a minimum and somehow it saved her life.  
     "Filss?  
     "Yes, Agent Carolina?"  
     "We have a team off base, heading towards Valhalla. Can your range sensors pick them up?"  
     "Why yes. With the satellites still in orbit, I still have full range of activity on the surface of the planet."  
A few minutes of her trying to calculate and split off to yell at the others to not touch the rocket launchers, she finally came back to Carolina. "It seems Recovery One and a Private Grif are in a conflict. I am registering a fire fight."  
She didn't curse much, but this called for it. "Shit! Filss! What is the fastest way to get to Valhalla?"  
     "I would recommend 479er's Pelican. She would be pissed if you crashed it though."  
     "Yes, but I rather face her wrath than let my team die." Helmet under her arm, she took off for where she heard the loudest noise. The Blues stood to one side of the training room and the Reds to the other. "No time for bullshit boys, we have to do a rescue!"  
Tucker spoke first, "What? I thought it was an easy in and out. Bow chicka bow wow!"  
     "They were ambushed." She headed to the pelican in the hanger bay, but stopped and turned towards him and pointed. "Never say that to me...again." She continued towards the pelican slipping on the familiar helmet. It clicked and hummed, connecting with her under suit and with the life support systems. Her HUD display came up with the status of her team mates. She saw the extensive surgeries Church went through to survive. He was practically more robot than human. She made a promise to herself that she would get him home to an actual life, not living from one cave to cave off of military chow that at times wasn't fit for human consumption...unless you were Grif.

 

***

 

They sat on the ridge overlooking the base. Valhalla was quiet, no movements in the region as far as his sensors could see. Switching over to heat vision didn't help any. The pine forest's heat fluctuation hid anyone or anything inside. He tried to suppress his sigh, but it was picked up on Grif's feed.  
     "Dude. Seriously, you sound like my sister flushing a prom baby."  
     "Congratulations. That is seriously the most fucked up thing ever said to me. Ever. Of all time."  
Grif shrugged and looked back though his scope. "Got to stop you from overlooking that this is really fucking bad idea. Like, Sarge level bad." He scanned the building but saw nothing. "I feel like someone is watching me but can't find them."  
     "I have a feeling we won't see them till it's too late. Might as well make the assholes work for it."  
Wash helped him load up the sniper gear and exchange it for a battle rifle and insuring that Grif didn't forget the ammo per Simmons suggestion earlier. Good thing that Wash always came prepared. He didn't prepare for the whining Grif did because of the added weight though.  
     "Fucking hell, it's like dealing with a fat Tucker with fewer crabs."  
Grunting behind him and leaning on every tree they passed, "I'll...take the....complement...where I can." He groaned and pushed off to catch up as Wash walked slowly, sweeping the area.  
     "I'm not even walking fast."  
     "But you're taller and take larger steps!"  
He wanted to take his helmet off to smell the area but he knew that would be a giant target. They approached the edge of the woods; there was thirty yards out in the open with no cover. He felt like they were being culled by an unseen enemy into a pen like bleating sheep.  
     "Alright, we need to sprint to get to the building. The access is on the North side which would be to the left of our approach."  
     "Sprint...you know who you're talking to right?"  
     "Yes and I'm pretty sure getting shot in the ass would be a better incentive than a muffin to actually run."  
     "I stand corrected. I never thought I would hate anyone more than Sarge. Kudos."  
     "I'll take the complement where I can. Now run and I'll watch your back."  
     "I bet you will." Grif took off from the tree line only to stop a few steps in bitching about a stitch in his side.  
He heard a branch snap from the north side. "Run damn it!" He grabbed Grif's arm and began to drag him to safety. Wash felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he heard the shot from the trees. "He is trained on the front door."  
     "How do you know it's a 'he'. We could be killed by a chick." Grif panted as he leaned on the wall behind him.  
     "What woman do you know would miss a shot on purpose? This is Wyoming's style. To toy with us until the inevitable."  
     "Sounds like a real asshole."  
Wash grunted in agreement. He looked around the corner to see the best spot for the perched sniper. "I'm going to distract him, get inside the building."  
     "Why am I not going to like this?"  
Grif readied himself as Wash stood out in the middle of the pathway. "Hey Wyoming! I thought I smelled Earl Grey and cat piss!"  
He heard the tree groan from under Wyoming's weight, "The bullocks on you boy! Knock knock!"  
     "Come in bitch!" Wash shot towards the sound. He waited till he heard a thump to the ground to run. "Go now!"  
Turning the corner Grif grunted, "The fucking door is on the other side of the god damned building!"  
Well, shit. That's a technicality.  
They both slowed and looked at the tree line when they heard a bellow. Crashing through the underbrush was a giant snow leopard. He bound off the trees and was heading straight towards them.  
Grif began to scream as they tried to book it towards the door on the other end of the building. Seriously, who puts a fucking door at the end of a building and not the middle?  
     "I am not dying as food! Dying as food would be ironic!"  
     "Dying as food isn't ironic!"  
     "Fact check Wash, Grif is not an ingredient in Purina fucking cat chow!"  
Wash was trying to shed his armor; he was going to have to fight the large cat to protect Grif. "Just get to her office and get the hard drive! I'll hold him off!"  
     "How the fuck am I going to find this shit?"  
He didn't plan for that. It was going to be get in and smell for her perfume of lilacs and chocolate and just grab anything not bolted down. "Smell for chocolate?"  
     "Seriously?" Grif bolted for the door and shut it tight behind him.

Wyoming was charging. He had thirty seconds to change and it looked like the giant cat was only going to give him ten. "Hard way it is." He tried to push fast into the black wolf as Wyoming leapt into the air. Pain surged through his body as his foe collided into him. He felt a rib crack as the large head made contact, fangs grazing his arm leaving a trail of salvia along his fur. Whipping around, he snapped at Wyoming's massive tail feeling the hair bunch in his teeth as it slid through his grip.  
Their claws scrabbled for holds as they snapped and slashed at each other, fur flying as they grappled and released.  
Wash ducked a high paw that slammed on the ground, rolling away as he came back for a swipe in the other direction. He tried to slide under and snap at Wyoming's soft belly only for him to slam down, cutting him off from the attack.  
Blood began to form at Wash's mouth as he glared at the circling cat. He lowered his head, bearing his teeth and waited for his foe to charge. They circled, sizing the other up, noting each other's weaknesses which Wash was racking up quite a few. He couldn't compete with Wyoming's jaw strength and claws.  
Wyoming roared as he aimed low for Wash's front legs. Washington sprung away, trying to dodge despite his screaming ribs. Bounding off the side of a rock, he took the back of Wyoming's neck in his jaws. The snow leopard screamed as he tried to swipe off the offending wolf. He rolled on the ground to dislodge him, crunching the broken ribs further into his chest. Wash whined but held tight. If he was going to die, he was going to take the bastard with him. His vision was faltering, jaws clamped so tight he felt them creak.

Wyoming laid down, taking a back paw and began to smack at the tick on his hide.  
He hit him hard, knocking Wash and a mouthful of his own skin off. Murder filled his eyes, blood running down his neck matting his gray pelt.  
This was it.  
The little rookie finally bit off more than he could chew. Washington tried to stagger to his feet, but he faltered landing in the dirt with a pained whine. Wyoming stalked slowly, as if he was savoring this kill. He put one paw on Wash's muzzle, extending a claw piercing under the black wolf's eye. Wyoming leaned in to tear out his throat when he felt a sting in his shoulder. Looking behind him, the one in orange was shooting and screaming gibberish. He snorted at the laughable attempted to save his friend flicking his tail with mirth. Wash was trying to smack at Wyoming with his paws but not making any headway. His strength was gone and the attempt felt more like death throws to the large cat.  
The shooting stopped and something grabbed at his tail. _Is that orange bugger really grabbing my tail?_ He turned to snap only to see pale aqua armor.

     "Hello Wyoming. How about you sod off you arse-licking knob head!" She jerked on his tail using all her might and slung him towards a rock. Happy with the throw, she looked down at Washington's crumpled form. Blood was foaming at his mouth as his golden eyes rolled back. He panted, giving a harsh wheeze with every exhale.  
Her heart stilled as she felt the vampire surge up, taking her mind with it. Claws extended she ran towards the stunned cat. Unholy sounds bellowed from her throat as she landed on Wyoming's back slashing and digging in the pale gray fur tingeing it with red.  
She ripped off her helmet and locked her knees onto his shoulder, and bit down the raw spot made by Wash's fangs. Wyoming bucked and thrashed only to give up his neck to Carolina's claws. She dug her fingers deep into his exposed collar, feeling the life blood flow into her ripped gloves. She clinched and pulled, feeling the windpipe break in her hands as he stilled beneath her.  
Pulling her mouth off his neck, she spat out his blood. It tasted like bile and evil. She scanned over to see Wash still in wolf form, black fur gently swaying in the soft breeze. He didn't change to human, so he was still conscious.  
Slowing her breathing, she felt the vampire slide away. Claws and teeth retracting as she tentatively went to check on him. He gave a pained whine as she knelt beside him. "Can you change back?" She tentatively put her hand on his forehead and brushed softly to his ears trying to comfort him.  
Caboose came up beside her with Wash's cape, draping it over the wolf as he muddled painfully to change back to human. "You take one end, and I'll help you carry him to the plane."  
She was grateful for Caboose's cognitive moment. They gently lifted Wash as he passed out from the pain. Making sure he was settled safely on the floor, they wrapped him up in the emergency wool blanket from the med kit. She sent Caboose to get the dropped armor as she went to assist Simmons and the others find the hard drive. Carolina opened the door to Church pushing her back outside.  
     "Just don't C. You don't want to see it."  
     "Death? I've seen death Church. We need to get the stuff and get out now. There is a med unit at the storage facility and Washington is hurt bad."  
He sighed and shook his head, "Not the death, they have your...autopsy playing on the main computer in the tank room."  
She paled. Did they watch for entertainment? The dissections and her knitting herself back together over and over again? The vitriol rose in her throat as she looked past him. The Reds came around the corner with Tucker in tow with armfuls of chips and drives.  
Sarge had a large box balanced on his shoulder as he walked past. "We going to skin it?"  
She shook her head, "I don't think you can keep the fur of and endangered species." She did want to burn it.  
The bastard.  
He betrayed them the whole time, kidnapped her to be tortured, turned Maine into a monster, and then tried to kill Washington.  
Grabbing her helmet, she dropped a few timed bombs on Wyoming's body and walked onto the Pelican's plank. She nodded that they were all accounted for and took her seat in the cockpit.  
As the bird lifted, the bombs went off destroying the last remnants of the traitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Washington is clinging to life from his injuries. Carolina and Tucker take a side trip which they each benefit from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maine Polar Bear  
> North Dakota: Brown Bear  
> South Dakota: Lion  
> Carolina and York: Vampire  
> Washington: Wolf  
> Connecticut and Florida: Selkie  
> Wyoming: Snow Leopard  
> Texas: ???

~  
Light the night up, you're my dark star  
And now you're falling away

Dark On Me - Starset  
~

 

     "How did you sprain both your ankles again?"  
     "He made me run, you know my ankles can't handle running!"  
     "The sadist." Simmons mocked concern as he wrapped Grif's other sprained ankle. "At least this will make you slower to get to the food you fat bastard."  
     "More to cuddle, bitch...wait...shit, that came out wrong."  
     "Yeah it did. You need to talk about it?"  
     "No." Grif looked over as Carolina and Church began to slow process of putting Wash back together. They worked silently over his pale form. If it wasn't for the heart monitor, he would have sworn they were just dressing up a corpse in bandages.

Filss ticked off the injuries and instructed them how to go about and fixing what they could. A stasis tank would be handy, but that was one of the few things the UNSC grabbed for themselves after the science base's assets were liquefied.  
His dislocated jaw was tricky; the broken ribs nicked his pericardial sack, his collar bone was gently pushed into the right position and tied down firmly. There was nothing they could do for the broken orbital socket and just hoped he didn't suffer irreparable brain damage. Putting the tube down his throat to suck up all the blood and mucus from his lungs looked about to be the most agonizing. Good thing they injected him with a load of morphine before takeoff.  
Carolina sat back with an exasperated sigh rubbing her temples. "Okay guys. Church and Caboose can carry Grif to the rec room; he deserves a little r&r for all the running."  
     "On it!" Caboose bent down and single-handily picked up Grif. Church just shrugged and headed out with him. Grif complained the whole time that he wasn't some bride and to just let him hobble with dignity. It made Carolina smile a little.  
     "Simmons, I need you to get everything off those hard drives and it would be nice to have them on a tablet for me to research from here." She looked up; her voice small, "Thank you for the help."  
     "No problem. Shouldn't take me long."  
Sarge waited by, but she could see he was itching to play with what was in that box he pilfered. "You need sleep little lady."  
     "I'll be fine. I can smell Tucker found the coffee machine. If you could steal me a cup, I'll be in your favor."  
He grunted and walked out the door.  
She slid down the wall and looked at the monitors on the other side of the bed. Washington's breathing was shallow and his eyes hollowed and black. She couldn't rest till she knew he was on the mend but right now, it was touch and go. Carolina reached for his hand, but held back. She had no right. He hated her and it wouldn't be a comfort to him, probably bring him more pain in the long run. Sighing, she tucked her wondering hands under her knees and just watched the monitor.

A few minutes of beeping, she began to hear cursing in between. Church came through the door with a pile of blankets in his arms. He muttered and banged his way towards the unused cot next to her. Dropping the blankets, she chuckled seeing the pillow clinched between his teeth. Spitting it out, "Not funny."  
     "Thank you." She got up and began to move the cot closer towards Washington. "Rummaging through my crate?"  
     "Everyone's crate is in there. Kind of spooky."  
     "A regular Who's Who of the dead people of Freelancer." She sighed, getting up to fix the bed. She hated fixing the bed. Seemed she did pick up on one of her father's nasty habits.  
     "None of this should have happened. How did so many protocols get overlooked?"  
He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I can't tell you anything. If I saw something off, I don't think anyone would give me the time of day. I was just a failed project that watched mission tapes and overlooked team dynamics. If something was wrong with Maine, I missed it. As always, I'm a failure." He sat on the end of the bed, hanging his head down. "I fail everything. I suck as a team leader, I sucked at my job, I failed the Simulator DNA test, and I failed Beta the most."  
She sat next to him, a reassuring hand on his back. "You're not a failure-"  
     "Really? Then why is the universe's worst troops my guard detail?" His voice broke. "I mean, c'mon. Before Wash showed up, all we did was fuck around. We would probably still be there fucking around." He stood up and sighed. "I'll go check on Simmons, maybe talk to Filss about the good ol' days when I was in a test tube not fucking up shit."  
     "Church! Wait!"  
He waved her off as Sage came in with a mug of coffee some sort of pastry. "What's crawled up his ass?"  
     "Life apparently." Her hands grabbed greedily for the steaming cup of nectar, sighing contently as the bitter brew warmed her throat.

 

Church made his way to the control room, eyes narrowing in on the conversation at hand.  
     "Oh Simmons, I've never been touched there before. Be gentle!" Filss crooned through the speakers.  
     "You're not making this easy!" His face was flush as he began plugging in the hard drives they stole.  
     "Oh right there! Yes!" She made a soft purring sound.  
     "Stop that!"  
     "What the hell are you doing?" Church stepped around the corner.  
     "I don't know and I expect you to respect that!"  
     "First time with a chick is like that. Filss, be nice. I know you're having fun."  
     "Sorry Alpha- I mean Church. It has been a long time since I had company."  
     "You did get it on tape right?"  
     "Of course!"  
     "I'm currently hating you both." Simmons finally got the drives in and began to unlock the information while muttering to himself. After a few minutes, he finally found what he was looking for and began downloaded them onto the data pads. Handing them off to Church, "Alright. This is everything from Dr. Grey. If I see anything on the other drives, I'll inform you." He turned back to face the screen, the light reflecting off his glasses.  
Church grunted thanks and went off to pass out the data pads. He made sure Carolina got one first, since most of the information was about her and the Freelancers.  
He still felt guilty about not noticing the changes in Maine. There were complaints of headaches, but they were shrugged off by the doctor in charge so he only glanced through it and continued on compiling the team missions.  
Then the incident happened.  
He was shipped off almost immediately to Blood Gulch with Agent Florida. It was only a month in that something happened and the normally chipper Captain began having his own headaches. Next thing the Blue Team knew, their Captain stripped out of his armor and shifted into a Selkie only to die in agonizing pain. Church had no idea what to do. His guardian was dead, his team was crazy and the opposing team was no better in the sanity department.  
They were the worst of the worst with no rhyme or reason and he fucking hated them.

 

Scanning over the data pad in her hands, Carolina nibbled in her lip. She would put it down ever so often to check Washington's vitals and his drips. His breathing was becoming steadier which was a good sign, but she was still afraid to leave him for too long in case he had a down turn. Everyone came in for a few minutes to check or ask her if she needed anything.  
She just wanted him to wake up...so she could kill him.  
He noted in his debriefing that she was a 'heartless bitch'. She remembered that tough call that a second later would have had him killed or have North shoot through his shoulder killing the Insurgent. She thought a bullet through the shoulder was far better than one between the eyes which the gun leveled at his helmet suggested.  
After a day and a half reading the logs, her eye was twitching in anger. Between the back stabbing to name calling and most of it was on her. Carolina flipped over to the science logs to read more about Alpha and Beta which made her grit her teeth instead.  
She huffed and began to look for some preinstalled books on the tablet. Anything would be better than hearing how much she was hated, even by her best friend. She found a copy of The Princess of Mars and thought fondly of her mother reading it to her on her trips home. They were halfway through when her mother had to go back to war only to die in the middle of her tour. Carolina never picked it back up. She panned through the chapter listings and started where her mother left off, hearing her rough voice take her through the adventure. Settling in, her mind eased. What her team mates said was in the past, she didn't want to think ill of them. She probably would have done the same. Pushing that aside, she sat in her spot and read. A cup of hot coffee would appear or a sandwich found its way to her. Muttering thanks, she continued on till she heard a sharp intake of breath beside her.  
     "Washington?" Carolina felt his pulse and watched as his eyes began to flutter. Running out of the med bay, she called to the others who rushed in to greet their fallen comrade. His voice was strained as he tried to get up only to be pushed down by Tucker and Sarge.  
She felt like she was invading the moment by staying. Slipping away, Carolina went to the storage room and began to put on her armor. Her mind was buzzing and a getting out of the little base felt like it would help.

 

~~~

 

It felt childish, but she needed time alone. Being outside made her feel better; away from the chatter and hum of all the voices at once.  
She could see the top of the Island Fortress from the days when the aliens inhabited the planet across the small stretch of water. It wasn't hard to find a boat in the expansive storage complex, they kept all sorts of odds and ends at there; making it a slightly more comfortable refuge than most places.  
But it just felt so crowded now.  
Her mind buzzed with the information she took in from the data pad. What she should have been upset about didn't bother her as much as she would have thought. With the fall of Freelancer, the animosity from her teammates about her didn't surprise her much. They were all tortured one way or another, made to turn on each other, and in some ways it worked.  
Even the man she loved grew away from her, feeling like leaving and hiding out on some satellite was far better than what was happening around them. She couldn't abandon her father though. There was a greater good to come from all of the torture and lies, or at least she thought there was.  
She should have known who Beta was, but it infuriated her. He used her own mother's DNA to regrow her and then turn her into a monster. From what she could gather from Church, Beta or Texas now, was completely assimilated into whatever Freelancer became. Texas would kill them if she was ordered too. Carolina wondered if they had implanted a chip in Texas too or was she so devoted to the Director that she would blindly follow him to the depths of hell. The later sounded more likely.  
Docking the little skiff to a large rock, she crossed the beach taking in the dying light from the sun. The island was more of an ancient monument than a fortress as was stated on the map.  
Too her, it was a grave.  
She passed the hallway and found her way to an open corridor that led to the towering pillar in the middle. The last of the sun's rays casting a red tinge to the scorched wall, giving the area an eerie glow to an already ominous spot. Sitting down next to the wall, she leaned back and sighed deeply. She took off her helmet in a sign of respect for her fallen comrade and what felt like her only friend.  
Shadows lengthened around her as the last of the light died out. She tried to cry, but nothing would come out. Maybe Washington was right. Maybe she didn't have a heart. She couldn't even cry at her own mother's funeral, why would she cry now?  
Pulling her knees up to her chest, she set her head down and looked out at the waves.  
     "At least you died in a beautiful spot. Wonder if it is beautiful where you are?"  
      _"Would you like to see it?"_  
The voice pulled Carolina out of her musings. Grabbing her gun, she pointed it towards the sound. "Who's there? Show yourself?"  
The shadows formed, slithering up to her slowly. A viper's skull formed from the coil, cocking its head as to question her pulling a gun on it. "I asked a question? Would you like to see?"  
She narrowed her eyes and looked down at her gun and back at the mass of bones now forming from the smoking shadows. "It was a random thought. I hope he is in a better place, but I am not ready to go there yet." She grit between her teeth, gun still trained on the creature. "May I ask who or what you are?"  
Flicking its tail in front of its face, she couldn't tell out of boredom or amusement. _"I am a familiar. All vampires have one since their making, but you were not made properly so we couldn't meet."_ It uncoiled and began to glide towards her. _"When a vampire matures, they go to the shadows and call upon their familiar. We are helpers if you may."_  
     "Help me do what?" Sensing no malice, she locked the gun back at her hip.  
      _"We see where you cannot."_  
     "See where?"  
      _"In the hearts of men. I see lies. I see truth. I see innocent. I see guilty."_ He shook his head as a great ruffle of smoky feather grew around his head.  
     "So how do I..." She didn't want to insult the creature.  
      _"A covenant. I bind myself to you and you in turn feed me. I am only as strong as you and if you abuse me, you abuse yourself. Do you accept?"_  
     "I- "  
Reading her thoughts, he looked out at the crashing waves. _"When you were a child, what animal did you wish to pet at the zoo?"_  
Taken aback, she nearly forgot. Everyone wanted to pet the lions or hug the bears. She was different. "They had a cobra. It had beautiful eyes and its scales were so smooth. I wanted to touch it."  
      _"Ho ho ho! Beautiful eyes...is that why you like him?"_  
It had a deep chuckle that made her blush. She cleared her throat, "It's not like that!" She squirmed a little as the creature laughed at her. "So...what do you eat? I don't even know how to feed myself half the time."  
      _"No worries, darkness feeds my spirit. A bad dream can nourish me as well. Your time in the tubes will keep me on for centuries."_ It curled back on itself and looked at her. _"All you have to do is name me and I will serve you."_  
     "A name? That's all?"  
      _"A name."_  
Sitting back down, she looked down at her hands. Scrunching her face, she began going over names of pets, heroes from her favorite stories, and looking at the creature made of shadows it came to her. "Grendel."  
It inhaled through its invisible lungs, great wings formed from the boney hood on its back as it began to rise. _"Then Grendel is my name, my mistress."_ In the empty eye sockets, a green light mimicked her own eyes when they glared in anger.  
It melted into shadows and began to swarm her. She felt it slip under her armor and into her skin, surrounding her, squeezing her. It became painful to breath under the pressure.  
     "Grendel!" She gasped, clawing at the air for relief.  
     " _Do not be scared mistress, I am tying myself to you. Just a second more..."_  
The shadows enveloped her and then dissipated.  
    _"It is done. I am wherever you are and you can send me short distances. In battle, I can take form of armor as an avatar. We will be fierce together. I chose well. Not have I had such a strong master since Queen Boudica."_ It reformed, smaller than before and wrapped around her shoulders like a scarf. Grendel sighed happily laying his bony skulled head on her collar. " _I hide in the shadows and come when you call. Unlike the shifters, I can form outside the boundaries."_  
     "Can I pet you?"  
      _"Anytime you wish my mistress."_  
Putting her hand to his head, she massaged the soft structure of bone that lead to the crest of feathers. It purred in a cattish way, leaning into her caress. Her body instantly relaxed as if she was being petted herself.  
Sighing sadly, Grendel looked towards the base. " _As much as I love being tended too, we need to leave. Seems your wolf pup is getting on poorly."_  
Sitting up straight, "What do you mean? He just had broken ribs and the internal injuries have healed."  
      _"The wolf cannot handle any more damage. It is not the form used for fighting and yet he does. Every injury, every break is a chain holding him down. One more fight and the wolf will fall along with your friend. He is probably already feeling the strain."_ He slid off her shoulder and began to slither down the hall. _"Your father, a brilliant man yes, but if he had an idea of how our powers worked he would not have done what he had done. It is far more complicated than drinking blood and keeping injuries from sunlight. You are connected to the shadows. Without the covenant, you are weak and will crumble into dust in just a few short years. Even though I was not connected to you, I did my best to help you survive those scientists."_  
She followed him out of the temple and to the small skiff waiting by the rocks. "Can we save Washington?"  
Grendel opened his hood forming shadowy wings. _"He needs to connect to the wolf and make a covenant like you have. It will be harder. I found you through the shadows, the wolf is inside him. It will be tricky, but nothing I cannot do."_ He landed gently into the boat and looked thoughtfully at Carolina as she stepped in.  
     "Bit full of yourself aren't you?" She started up the little engine and they crossed the small stretch of waters.  
      _"Hmmmm....must be inherited."_ Looking towards the shore, " _Seems the pup will have to wait, I sense company on the bank._ "  
     "I'm hoping nothing in lightish blue at the moment."  
     " _I am going with bluish green? Mayhap aqua?"_  
     "Tucker?"  
They approached the land as Tucker waved.  
     "So...I really wasn't looking for you."  
     "Good to know." She began to pull the little boat further up to where they originally had it stored.  
     "Yeah, so Wash and Church are currently fighting and I swear to fuck they get any higher pitched; only dogs and Caboose will hear them." He stopped for a second. "And what the fuck is that thing?" Pointing at Grendel  
The creature slithered up and found his place on Carolina's shoulder. "Just the latest in vampire fashion. Want one?"  
     "No thank you. I already have a python and I call it my dick."  
     "Classy."  
     "I'm a classy bitch. Never forget baby."  
      _"I'm a feathered serpent, not a python. How uncouth._ "  
Carolina snorted. "So, they're fighting? Guess he isn't feeling too bad."  
     "Fighting? More like asshole measuring contest. Apparently, Church is gaping and Wash is prolapsed. Caboose is hiding out in the hangar bay talking to things because he doesn't want to see mommy and daddy fight and the Reds, I have no fucking clue what they're up too."  
Walking up to the warthogs hidden in the trees, Carolina looked towards the building and over to the jeeps. "How about we go on a little mission? The Wind Facility is just a few miles away. Might find some nice quiet information."  
     "Better than listening to Church and Wash fight over tampons. No offence, I'm not a misogynist."  
     "Clearly."

The trek to the facility didn't take long. Just long enough for a few awkward jokes that was enough for Grendel to hide away in the shadows. Tucker was just too much for the little familiar. She hoped the guys would refrain from killing each other till morning, but it looked like she wasn't the only one wanting to get away.  
Tucker drove along the coast in the dark to get to the opening of the massive building.  
     "Tha fuck?"  
Never seeing it before, it was pretty strange. It had one giant wind wheel that was constantly turning at a slow rate and in the basement were generators storing the excess energy. Carolina first toured it with the Director when it was first built and thought it was an eccentric design. Surely, they had a better more sophisticated way to make perpetual energy, but she wasn't a designer or a scientist. Just a soldier who grunted when spoken too. It was unusual that it was unmanned at the moment. There were usually at least ten guards posted at all times, it caught her eye as strange.  
     "It's ugly, but this spot makes most of the energy for the bases on this planet. Blood Gulch was off the grid so to speak, so you guys got the solar generators."  
     "Yip-fucking-ee. No power, no internet, and no coffee maker. Join the military they said..." He made his way up the walkway and stopped to smack the side of his helmet. "Fucking lights never work."  
     "Here." She turned the lights on her helmet, shining right into his eyes.  
     "Hey! Watch it!" Blindly stepping backwards, he disappeared next to the turning wheel.  
Carolina looked over the edge towards the sound of screeching metal. "Tucker! Grendel, is he okay?"  
The shadow creature flitted down into the hole, " _It lives...sadly._ "  
     "Be nice!" She stepped onto the wheel and slowly descended into the small cavern. "Tucker?"  
She heard a clank and groan as she stepped off the wheel. It somehow pushed him into a hole in the natural rock when he hit the bottom.  
     "What the fuck did I land on? Feels like a dildo up my ass!" He crawled out into Carolina's light. Still on his knees, he held up the metal grip. "Not ribbed for my pleasure that's for damn sure." He was about the throw it when energy pulsed into a two pronged sword. "That would have fucking hurt." He stood up and swished it around like a child on Christmas. He flicked his wrist and it retracted back into the handle and then again to erect the blade. "Greatest weapon ever!" He held the blade in the air, "I have the power!"  
     "Are you done?"  
     "No...I was going to call the Thundercats, but you broke the mood. Way to go."  
      _"Are we done children?"_  
     "What's Cobra Commander's problem?"  
      _"I...what?_ "  
     "Ignore him." She stepped onto the wheel again to travel it up. "Sun will be up in a few and it might be good if we get in before Grif eats everyone's rations."  
Tucker grunted and grabbed onto his own spoke to ride.  
On the way back, he let Carolina drive so he could hang out the side screaming about her driving closer so he could hit things with his sword. She didn't get to explore like she wanted, but at least it wasn't a wasted trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Fun fact* Grendel is a real little creature of mine. He is a puppet I've made from a fake snake skeleton that goes with my Ice Queen costume. I was afraid of children being too scared, but they loved him.  
> Pictures on my account:  
> http://0kamihime.tumblr.com/post/168457870668/i-forgot-to-post-our-halloween-stuff-my-new


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wash finds his inner beast and had a little too much fun at Carolina's expense.

~  
Suffocated  
Voice has faded  
Is this real or in my mind?

Into The Unknown - Starset  
~

Wash wandered into the hanger bay, anger burning through him. Unconscious for three days and then he woke up to hell falling around him. His ribs ached and now his throat sore from the screaming match Church started because Carolina left. He instantly blamed him for her walking out to god knows where while he tried to figure out what day it was.  
He saw the data pad and it was damning on his part. Just when things were smoothing back over and they could stand to not only be in each other's company but fight back to back like before.  
     "Goddamn it!" He kicked the closest jeep.  
A head popped out from underneath. "Please do not kick Christine, she does not like that."  
     "Sorry Caboose." He sighed and sat next to the tire.  
     "Don't apologize to me, apologize to her."  
Clearing his throat, "Sorry...Christine."  
Caboose shimmied back under the warthog to fix whatever he deemed broken or talk to it, whichever made him feel better at the time. "You and Church done with the yelling?"  
     "Hmm....currently." He rubbed at his chin in thought. "It would be nice for when things crawl up his ass that he didn't blame me."  
     "He does get butt bugs a lot." He scooted back towards Wash to look him in the eye. "He blames you because Carolina is mad at him."  
Scoffing, "Why is she mad at him? The data pad was left on my file calling her a heartless bitch."  
He shrugged, "That probably didn't help."  
     "Yeah. So. What is a woman who is constantly mad, mad about?"  
     "Doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see. If Alpha is the clone of her father, then Beta would be the clone of a ghost."  
Wash's wide eyed expression said it all.  
     "It isn't good to play a god. Maybe that's why his name is Church."  
     "Thanks Caboose."  
     "For what?"  
     "I'm kind of less scared of when she comes back."  
     "And Tucker."  
     "And Tucker what?"  
     "He left too." He sighed, "It's so nice without him."  
Wash slowly stood up, holding his ribs trying to bite back a grunt of pain. He should have been healed by now. Something was terribly wrong and he was afraid to even think about it. His scars burned, it hurt to breath, and he was working up a sweat just walking from one room to the other. His heart rate skyrocketed and the world began to blur. He barely had time to put his hands in front of himself as he plummeted face first into the steel floor.  
     "Agent Washington!" Caboose squirreled out from under the jeep and gently flipped him over onto his back. "Wash?" He looked around for help, but there was no one in the hanger. "Computer lady! Wash needs help!"  
     "What has happened Private Caboose?"  
     "He passed out! Is there anyone awake?"  
She was quiet for a moment, "Scanning. No one is awake but there are two approaching. Profiles Agent Carolina and Private Tucker. My scans show that Agent Washington is completely healed. No injuries."  
     "But, he won't wake up." He was starting to panic when he heard Filss's voice echo by the front gate. The thud of armored boots came closer to his relief. "Carolina! Tucker! Over here!"

Rounding the corner, Carolina threw off her helmet not giving a damn were it landed; probably hitting Tucker, but she at the moment didn't give a damn. She slid onto her knees next to Caboose holding up Washington's prone form.  
     "Grendel?"  
      _"It is close to dying. Open his mouth!"_  
She did as she was told, noticing how blunt his teeth were looking instead of the usual predatory sharpness she was used to. Her heart thundered in her chest.  
    _"Please pardon my rudeness."_ Grendel raised his hood and flexed his feather crest as he spat a ball of shadowed mist into Washington's mouth. _"Close it and hold it shut. He will fight. Wolves are notorious aghast to vampire magic."_  
She held his jaw firmly shut as she felt him stirring. His eyes flew open, hazel blue instead of the usual gold rimmed in black. They rolled back into their sockets as he strained against shadow entering him turning the sclera black.  
     "You have to go and save the wolf Wash. Please." She put her forehead on his as his body slackened.  
      _"You can let him go now. He is deep now. Let's hope he gets to it in time."_  
She adjusted herself to hold his head off the ground as Caboose sat quietly by. She forgot to even acknowledge his presence; he was like a shadow himself sometimes. A shadow that had very bad trigger discipline.  
     "Is that a feathered serpent?" He finally broke the silence.  
She nodded her head and gave a soft smile. "His name is Grendel, he's my familiar."  
     "Neat. Is that thing he did going to help Mr. Washingtub?"  
Nodding her head softly, "I hope so."

 

***

 

He had no clue where he was. Surrounded by pitch darkness, he turned to look only to see nothingness.  
     "Hello?" His echoing voice was the only sound. "Okay, keep it together. I passed out and now..." He didn't know if he should walk or stay in one spot. He had no weapons, not even the knife he kept on his hip while sleeping. The temperature was dropping making him shiver in his light wear.  
He hadn't felt cold since his turning, the feeling was foreign to him now. His teeth began to chatter, making his notice the smoothness of them. He stopped and began to feel his teeth with his fingers. "What the fuck?" Looking down, he noticed his hands. Finger nails which had a sharp edge were now stress bitten down. "Great. I have no clue where I am and now I'm human. Of all the times." Slumping a little, he began to move.  
Very faint sounds came from his left and it was better than the nothingness ahead of him. He saw a warped form struggling, its tired movements making the thick shackles ting and clang together. As he got closer, he could see soft tuffs of black fur sticking out from the knotted chains. A gold eye opened as he approached, a soft mournful howl begging for help.  
     "You're my..."  
The wolf snorted hot air on his legs. It tried to open its jaws, but the chains were wrapped too tight around its muzzle. Wash kneeled down, softly touching the open spot on his snout. His knuckle hardly touched a chain when it crumbled into the darkness. Another urging grunt and he began to touch all the chains. Memories of each injury poured through his mind. The gash he got from South when she figured out how to half change her hand. The through and through of North's shot that helped him kill the insurgent holding him at gun point. Broken shoulder from training with York, the cracked knee from Carolina correcting him harshly from behind, and the large boat chains of Maine's claws that almost dug out his spine as he held firm on his friend's throat.  
Each chain dissolved away and he felt the air lighten and warm. Only a few chains left and he watched as the wolf began to stand, brimming with strength again. The last chain, that muzzled his mouth shut tight crackled with red light, burning bright in the darkness. He opened his great maw, popping his jaw and grunting happily.  
      _"Took you long enough boy."_  
     "Wait? You talk?"  
      _"Your sire should be ashamed for how you abused me. To fight in wolf form is asking for death. Every injury was a chain, a burden upon me."_  
Wash backed up a little at the looming wolf. "What are you talking about, a sire? I was in a genetics program."  
      _"Human? You are human? Explains why you never made a covenant with me. A sire would teach you to communicate with me. Humans...they know nothing of how we work."_  
Showing himself in a calm fashion, Wash sat down in front of the black wolf. He could only see the bright molten gold orbs glowing in the swallowing darkness. "I'm willing to learn."  
      _"Are you? What am I to gain from siding with you?"_ Teeth bared, he walked closer to where Wash was sitting, circling menacingly. _"You ignored my call; you ignored my pain and now-"_  
     "I'm here now. I'm sorry for the damage caused, I felt the pain too. If I knew how to do things right sooner, I would have. And for that, I am sorry. Are we going to work together and make sure no one else ends up like us or are you going-"  
      _"To let you die? That would kill me. I wanted to see your mettle."_ He sat on his haunches and let out a large yawn. _"So, are you ready to learn boy?"_  
     "As long as you stop calling me boy. Even being called Rookie was a step better."  
The wolf laughed. _"Good enough...David. I used your name, now you must use mine. Name me, claim me, make the covenant right and we will fight like warriors should."_  
Nodding, he took a second and steeled his spine. "Alright. Beowulf, corny I know but it feels right."  
      _"It is not corny, most of the strongest are called such. History tells it so. Now you must wake. Call on me and I will come forth in fighting form. I will guide you when you are lost. No matter where, the moon and stars guide us."_  
     "The moon and stars will guide us." The words fell from his lips, the old shifter acknowledgement for goodbye.  
They touched foreheads and Wash felt his body grow lighter. Beowulf evaporated into a mist and seeped into his skin, wriggling its way through his body growing into strength and power under his flesh. He didn't feel this strong when he was first changed or after his first shift.

Voices began to swirl around him as the darkness began to fade into light. He felt the pull back to consciousness. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was a curtain of red haloing scared verdant eyes. He groaned a little, the armor plate on her legs digging into his back. Sitting up slowly, he felt the surge of energy tugging. Beowulf was not happy about the vampire so close, he wanted to know if he could trust her. A mist surrounded him as he rolled sideways away from Carolina and into a crouch. Eye to eye.  
      _"Carolina! Move!"_ Grendel urged her from her mind.  
She rocked back on her feet, pins and needles from waiting on Washington to wake up. She ignored it as she watched his avatar weave around his body. Grendel jerked her out of her shock by forming with her armor to protect her, cobra skull formed as her helm.  
      _"He is testing you. Defense only. Use the wings for speed and deflection."_  
     "My what?" She opened her hands, his wings formed around her arms tipping her fingernails in long claws, webbed shadows between each digit.  
The others hovered in the doorway, concerned before but now confused on what to do.  
     "Stay back...he's testing me I think."

  
The bipedal werewolf stood before her, crackling with energy. _"Test vampire? I'm going to kill you!"_ He threw his head back and howled. Snapping his focus towards her, he lunged a clawed hand forward to scrape across her winged arms. She went for a knee kick, but he swept his arm low, catching it and grabbing her ankle. Lifting her up and swung her to hit the closest jeep but stopped short seeing it was Christine. He changed directions and threw her across the hanger bag. She rolled to a stop and grunted in anger.  
     "Defense my ass."  
      _"He will take aggression as a challenge!"_  
     "Good! Because I'm itching for a fight!"  
Grendel sighed in her head but kept his commentary to himself.  
Picking herself off the ground, she cracked her neck and put her fists up bouncing from foot to foot. "Sorry, I don't have a rolled up newspaper for you."  
Wash narrowed his molten amber eyes, teeth barred in a snarl as he took to all fours. She prepared for his charge by leaving an opening that would be too hard to resist. He picked up on her kick to the knee; she relied on that move too much in the past.  
His nails screamed across the flooring as he barreled towards her. Her left was wide open, it would be hard for a new time fighter to resist, but his wolf was old and seen this tactic before.  
Aiming for her right, she threw everything she had into a low knee. It wasn't going to hit hard since he didn't take the bait, but it would rattle him a little. His claws dug into her armor, the metal groaning as they dug in. She pulled her knee high and it collided with his ribs. Before he could grab after her again, she twisted out of his reach behind him and smashing a quick elbow into his back. He swung his arm wide, hitting her in the back of the head, knocking her to her hands and knees. She smashed her fist into the floor and shrieked. Looking up at his smug face turned her little ember of rage to a roaring fire. This time, she leapt up and charged, using the shadowed wings to give a burst of speed. She threw a right hook that he caught easily, but missed her left that caught under his chin. Popping his jaw back, he grabbed the other hand and held them out like as if she was doll. She scrabbled to get a foothold as he lifted her off the ground closer to his face. Her left foot felt for his leg and she stabilized herself. Carolina glared him dead in the eye, pulled her head back and smashed her forehead into his snout. Wash threw her backwards, eyes watering. She rolled to her feet, ready to jump when he got closer. But he stood there.  
     "You are a formidable opponent Red."  
She ground her teeth, "Who are you calling Red?"  
Wash gave her a toothy chuckle as he moved in closer to her. His avatar form towered over her, but he leaned down to look her dead in the eye. Washington watched for her to flinch and smash his nose again. He inhaled deeply and stared her down. "I'm calling you Red. I accept to work with you for now. But I will have your throat between my teeth if you betray us."  
     "Same goes to you."  
He stood up, relaxing the avatar back to under his skin showing Wash's human form. Wolfish eyes gleaming down at her as he offered a hand to help her up. Grendel detached himself, retracting the claws and wings from her as he disappeared into the ether.  
She took his hand, felt his steady strength as he lifted her. Getting to her feet, she looked up into his eyes. They had a wild sparkle about them that promised mischief in the future, the old rookie was back.  
Carolina wound up her arm and punched him in the shoulder. "Asshole!" She marched off glaring at the onlookers snapping at anyone stupid enough to linger in her path.  
Caboose looked out from behind the warthog, "Thanks, for not hitting Christine. She would be angry at you."  
Wash chuckled while rubbing his shoulder. "Cars hate me anyways. But, nice to know she doesn't yet."  
He nodded his head and looked over to the path of wreckage hurricane Carolina just made, flinching at the sounds of her striking metal down the hallway. "Will she be okay?"  
     "Yeah. That was just her way of showing affection." He looked over towards the others.  
Still in his armor and holding Carolina's helmet, Tucker came up to him first. "Dude! Glad to see you up and about. That snake thing-"  
     "Feathered Serpent." Caboose interjected in his nasally monotone voice.  
     "Shut up Caboose. Anyways, that thing scared her and said you were dying."  
     "I kind of was." He flexed his hands enjoying the new surge of power, but noticing the lack of scars. "Huh. That's different."  
Tucker could see the black lines peeking out from under his shirt sleeve out of Wash's sight. "When did you get tattoos?"  
He pulled the shirt over his head and looked over his shoulder.  
     "Looks like a large sword and two daggers with a large wolf head in the middle. Pretty bad assed. Better than those fucking scars."  
He agreed. His scars at first didn't bother him much, but the more he collected the more he tried to cover them up by wearing thick clothing even though they were in the blistering heat.  
Sarge raised his eyebrows and then wondered back to his hiding spot to work on his project. The other Reds followed suit making Wash's eyes narrow. They were up to something, but first he had to figure out what Tucker was babbling about while waving a piece of metal in the air.

Ripping off her armor, Carolina grumbled. She could literally feel steam boiling off her skin from her anger. She slammed doors that could be slammed. It made her feel a tiny bit better as she found her way to the cleaner unit.  
She needed a shower. After sitting by Washington for three days to trudging along with Grendel and Tucker, then to top it off- Washington had to fight to stretch his wolf's muscles...she felt filthy.  
She was hissing as the water splashed down her face. Carolina could swear she felt the base tremble in fear over her anger.  
      _"May I be of assistance?"_ Grendel hung upside down from the shower head, avoiding the spray of water.  
She grunted and turned her back to him, getting her hair clean.  
      _"You're anger might be because you are hungry or something else?"_  
Her only response was a snort of disdain. He was probably right, it had almost been a week and she had two different fights. Plus, sexual frustration never manifested in her well.  
He chuckled as she smashed her fist into the off button and flip the valve for the dryer. "I like being angry. Better than sad or scared." She spoke over the hot air unit's buzz.  
      _"Yes, but it is an unhealthy coping mechanism. Happiness and pleasure are nice too."_  
     "I bet, but not in my lifetime." She stepped out of the stall and began to dress in lightweight fatigues. "My whole family is cursed to be unhappy it seems. Even the clones can't swim against that river."  
Carolina gathered her bedding from the med bay and found a small room at the end of the hall not in use with a few cots. She slammed the door with her foot and began making the bed. She didn't know if she could sleep, but being alone to her musings was better than what was probably going on with the rest of the crew.  
Grendel found his way on her lap as she sat and looked up at her like her grandmother's old Persian cat, be it a large cobra skeleton instead. He head butted her hand till she began to pet him; the feeling of being comforted came back to her. Her anger began to slowly melt as she tended to her familiar.  
A shadow passed by the doorway, pacing back and forth and back again. Carolina arched and eyebrow as Grendel cocked his head.  
     "Give him a few more minutes to stew. She laid back, taking the snake's head between her two hands to scratch both his cheeks at once. His tail wagged at her ministrations.  
After a few minutes, there was finally a knock at the door.  
     "Enter." She didn't sit up, but instead looked upside down at the door arching her back a little, her feet on the top of the bed with her knees up.  
      _"Yes, not wantonly at all."_  
     "Quiet you."  
The door opened slowly to Washington looking a little skittish. He cleared his throat while trying to not look at her.  
      _"Never mind...he's oblivious."_ He huffed and took to the shadows.  
Carolina sighed and sat up. "Yes?"  
     "I wanted to apologize."  
She snorted. "That was the past and I was a...heartless bitch...then."  
     "No, not that. I meant that." He could hear Beowulf screaming _'Abort mission! The ship is on fire!'_ Clearing his throat and trying to smile but his familiar was right. There was no way he could talk to her without looking foolish or being killed. "I mean, that isn't what I wanted to apologize for."  
     "Do go on." Her tone dropped.  
Inhaling and exhaling slowly, "I give. What did I do this time?"  
     "Really?"  
     "I'm squirming, you win. Help me help you in not killing me."  
That made her laugh a little. "Okay. You ruined my armor."  
     "That's it?"  
She nodded. "That's it."  
He sat next to her and sighed. "I thought you were mad about something worse."  
     "Do you still think I'm a heartless bitch?"  
     "No. You saved me as usual, kept watch till I woke up and the teams are all accounted for, including fingers and toes- except for the one Caboose lost last year. I just..just finding your tablet on my old mission summary crawled up Church's ass and made itself at home."  
She frowned a little. "I must have accidentally hit the tap function. I was reading A Princess of Mars before I left. Just didn't think you wanted me to be the first thing you saw."  
     "Wait...what?" He leaned back. Her face was red, hidden behind the curtain of hair. Wash wasn't used to it being down, but it made her look younger; especially with her fiddling with the hem of her shirt.  
     "You think I'm a bitch and a horrible commander and-" Her mouth stilled to gape as she felt his hand brush her bangs out of her face. Now it was her turn to stammer.  
     "I never thought you were a horrible commander, more of a bossy teammate. I thought you hated me because I made mistakes and made you look bad."  
Clearing her throat, "That didn't help. But I trusted you more than the others; especially at the end." She looked up to him, his hand followed her jawbone.  
     "You also never hung out with us. I always thought it was because you were stuck up because we were shifters and you were the princess vampire."  
     "Seriously? No one wanted to be near me! I was the fun pariah! The party ends when Carolina walks in." She pulled away from his touch. "The food fight was hilarious until I was stuck with paying for it."  
     "Wait, we were gone on a mission and you still had to pay for it?" He heard from the others the destruction of the mess hall and how it took Maine and North both to pull C.T. off of Wyoming. He finally got under her skin and made her snap. "That wasn't fair."  
     "Freelancer wasn't good at 'fair'. Fair was nothing more than a technicality." She stood to pace, "They were playing mindgames with me, trying to make me snap and take it out on you guys. But I grit my teeth and just trained you harder to do better. I didn't realize that everyone was sensing my animosity."  
Washington stood and grabbed her shoulders, steering her back to sit on the cot. "Let's change the subject. I don't want to think about those bastards, the lack of paychecks and God help me if they didn't match my 401K."  
Clearing her throat, "Alright. How about when your other self sniffed me?"  
     "Oh yeah, Beowulf..."  
     "Beowulf?"  
He looked at her with a puzzled expression.  
     "Mine is Grendel...irony."  
     "See! That is irony! Not a glutton being eaten alive by a giant asshole snow leopard!" His voice cracked as she laughed.  
     "It sounds ironic when you say it that way." She smiled and it made his heart stutter.  
     "I yeah...the sniffing thing. He...I...think you smell nice."  
     "Oh, what do I smell like?" Carolina leaned in and tipping her head to the side, giving off a coy air.  
     "A first frost. Clean and new, a fresh start." Dropping his head, he pushed her hair back from her neck and softly nosed behind her ear. Her hand gently touched his as she inhaled sharply. "You said my shirt smelled like home."  
Her body tingled a little as his nose brushed the nape of her neck. "I...ah...camping in autumn. The leaves changing smell sweet, makes me feel...like I'm home." She turned to face him; fangs elongated leaving small indentations on her full bottom lip, pupils wide in lust. His canines shined in the light with his smile, dirty blond hair falling in his golden eyes which were bright and gleaming with desire.  
Wash leaned in, watching as her lashes batted softly on her pale cheek as she lifted her face towards him. Her soft breath warm on his lips as he leaned in closer.

 

A loud explosion knocked him off the bed followed by a bellow from Sarge from somewhere in the base, "Gottcha you damn dirty Blue!"  
     "Fuck that bitch! You missed!"

  
Eyes flaming and teeth barred, "If they aren't fucking dead, I will kill them!" He clinched his fist till the knuckles popped.  
Clearing her throat and pointing down, "I'll go first and...Let you adjust." She jumped out of the room screaming at them to knock off the racket.  
     "So goddamned close." He put his head on her bed frame and sighed then began the chant. "Grandma's varicose veins...your sister's friend with the mole..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Church is evil. That's all I got.  
> Glad to see people are still liking this even though it is horrible. Thanks to you all.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revenge for idiocy, plots are made, Texas is punished.  
> *Warning* Small image scene of Church opened up pre-cybernetics

~

Isolated, I succumb to the weight of the world  
Separated, I fall from the sky

Back to the Earth - Starset

~

 

 

Rushing down the hall, Carolina bumped into Tucker who had his energy sword activated. "Sorry! I was just trying to keep them from bothering you guys and..."  
She grabbed his sword but it powered down in her hands. "Wha?"  
     "Have troubles keeping it up Carolina?" He laughed as he took the grip from her hands.  
     "As a matter a fact no...Why do you think he is taking his time to storm through here?" She shoulder checked him as she located the sound of the explosion.  
Washington emerged from the shadows to loom over Tucker who squeaked with fear. "Hey buddy. Just trying to keep them from bothering you guys...you know..."  
Snarling, he bumped the same shoulder Carolina hit to really ensure that bruise that would form. Searching the air, he could tell Grif and Simmons were in the control room; Caboose was holed up in the hangar bay, so that left Sarge and Church...of course. They were somewhere near the weapons storage which explained the explosion. He could hear Carolina berating them already.

He walked into what sounded like instructions from Saw.  
     "Okay Church. Let's work on your aim. You and Sarge will stand ten feet from each other. Every time you miss Sarge, he gets to fire at you and then you walk a pace forward. Sound good?"  
Church squeaked and Sarge grunted in agreement since he had the better end of the deal.  
     "How about you switch grips and use your cybernetic eye?" Narrowing her eyes, she had a guess and reading on Alpha's report made her question a few replacement parts.  
Church looked at her like she was crazy but followed her instructions. He switched hands on the sniper rifle and leaned in using the fake eye to look through the scope. He aimed for an empty beer can sitting on the containers and squeezed the trigger. He hit the can easily.  
     "Holy shit! I hit it!"  
     "The Director was blind as mole rat and left handed. Your normal eye would be garbage compared to a robotic one."  
Sarge turned green now that his completion that had a chance of winning.  
     "So...do we still want to play a game or do you want to tell me why you interrupted us?"  
Washington blushed at her use of the word 'us'.  
Sage stepped forward, tucking the rocket launcher behind him. "The Blue bastard was spying on me!"  
     "You have been working on something for days now and I have trust issues!"  
Caboose was peering from the doorway, "And butt bugs!"  
     "Shut up Caboose! I do not have things living up my ass!"  
That made Wash snicker.  
Carolina sucked air between her teeth. "Anything to do with that box you stole out of Valhalla?"  
     "Possibly."  
     "And can it possibly assist us to get Agent Texas and Agent Maine back?"  
     "Possibly."  
     "Can you tell me more than...possibly?"  
     "Maybe."  
She rubbed her incisor with her tongue as her eyes narrowed.  
     "Wait!" Simmons pushed around Caboose and Wash to get into the room. "It was my idea! Sarge was just working on the mobile part."  
     "Mobile?" Her arms were crossed and foot tapping.  
     "Yes. I was working with Filss and she is a fully functioning AI! She is all alone and practically useless here. So we thought, why not make her mobile and take her with us!"  
     "And how were you going to do that?" Wash finally spoke up.  
     "Well, we didn't know until we went to Valhalla and Sarge found it."  
He grunted and began to move a few boxes out of the way. What he was hiding was a full suit of armor in a pearl white color with soft blue trim.  
     "Is that a robot?"  
     "I was almost finished when I heard this Blue clanking around."  
     "I don't clank!" Church screeched. He looked to Carolina who was lost in thought.  
     "You think you can be done by breakfast tomorrow?"  
     "Definitely. Just a few more wields and wires to tuck. I certainly want to change the stripes to something more fitting...like red."  
     "Simmons, when do you think you can get a transfer ready?"  
     "I'll have it done after the body is finished. Would take a few hours downloading her system and maybe a few hours getting her functioning to full capacity."  
     "Good." She looked at Church's gaping mouth. "You need to practice shooting. We are getting Tex back and I need you fighting ready."  
He clenched his jaw, a little apprehensive but this is what he wanted. He needed Beta and he was concerned for her safety after reading her reports.  
     "Alright, dismissed. Get some rest and we'll start fresh in the morning, unless I'm disturbed again and then I will kill you." She gave a frightening smile and walked back towards the barracks hall.

Wash's eyes followed her out, but that would have to wait. "Sarge, a word."  
     "Washington." He stepped away from the robot which in his mind looked just like a smaller female in armor.  
     "I...that was a male kit wasn't it?"  
     "Yes sir. Made the modifications myself. Seemed the little lady deserves a nice upgrade from being a building."  
     "Good point." He sighed and scrabbled at his hair. "I wanted to ask you what you know about a General Reinhardt."  
Squatting down to pick up a random wrench, "Nothing good. That conniving dirtbag is why I'm here."  
He guessed as much. As old as Sarge was and still being a Private didn't sound right. "We have something in common then. His name came up on the records as being the new benefactor of the Science Divisions that controls the Freelancer and Simulation Trooper Departments, what's left of them." Wash watched as the old man clinched his fist holding the wrench. "I want to bring that bastard to his knees."  
     "I'm in. Does your chupa-whats-it know what your up too?"  
     "No. I'm keeping it that way. She is going to get Tex out while I split off and get the General to incriminate himself in his connections to destroying Freelancer. I have a feeling he knows where Maine is also. With the chips from Charon pulled out of agents from Freelancer, it is the proof I need to knock him off his pedestal."  
     "It's risky."  
     "I know, but time is of the essence. Maine has been trapped as a bear for far too long and if I can save him, I will do anything. I just need someone to watch my back. Taking that bastard Reinhardt down would be icing on the cake."  
     "You need to talk to Tucker too. If you think the old bastard hates you for beating his dirtbag son, imagine how pissed he was at the guy who knocked up his daughter."  
     "So I blinded his kid, Tucker banged his daughter, what did you do?"  
     "There's a reason his wife had me on speed dial."  
     "I have...no words." 

 

     "So, a General's daughter eh?" Wash sat next to Tucker on the old couch.  
Throwing his head back with a loud sigh, "Look, she just turned 18 and lied to daddy. She wasn't knocked up but I got the threat- brig or Sims. I fucking chose Sims. Got the DNA test back as a go and here I am."  
Wash had the same threat, but the Director pulled him for Freelancer saying he had key traits that he needed on his team. He was now reborn as Agent Washington and his past life was erased. It earned them deep loyalty that was never reciprocated. They pushed and pushed, but never gave back.  
     "I'm going to ask you the same thing I asked Sarge. Want to help me take down Reinhardt?"  
     "Hell yeah! That bitch tried to set me up as a sex offender!"  
Washington nodded. "When we break out Texas, we'll split off and go after the General. I know you have a camera in your helmet- might be nice to have the hard drive clean for once...for evidence."  
     "That is a lot to ask of me."  
     "Please don't make this weird."

 

***

 

The Counselor taped at his tablet, not looking up at the agitated agent in his office. "Agent Texas, as I stated before, you cannot do as you wish without the proper protocols. The Director is no longer in charge-"  
     "You don't control me, The Director does. I follow only his commands." She snapped.  
     "I was afraid of that." Holding out his wrist, he pressed the single button and watched at Agent Texas's armor locked down with her in it.  
She growled, but she couldn't budge the suit.  
     "You have become...uncontrollable. I will keep you in lockdown till you choose to behave and work like a true agent and not some unyielding child."  
Guards came in and picked her up under each arm. She growled and snapped, but they showed no fear while her helmet was on. She was all bark and no bite.  
     "Put her in the 'the hole' till she submits to order."  
He listened to her screams as she was carried down the hall, not flinching once. The Counselor was against Beta joining the ranks of the Agents. She had none of the training or the ability to follow orders unlike her benefactor. With the Director missing, she became even more of a loose cannon.

Dropping her off in a small room, they shut off the lights and shut her off from the outside world. She screamed that she would kill them all the minute she was set free, but they paid her no mind.  
All the gauges and sensors were deactivated in her helmet, not a single light filtered through leaving her in complete darkness. She raged, screaming for the Director to help her.  
The second day was full of hoarse pleas for him to set her free and punish everyone who put her in there.  
Third day brought whispered prayers to anyone or anything that could help her.  
Fourth day brought on the hallucinations. She felt like bugs crawling up from her feet and slowly burning their way up her body till they invaded her mouth, choking her panicked shrieks of terror till she passed out.  
Fifth day, she felt death coming. The cold chill of his caress made her bones ache. Pushing the fear down for a pleasant memory she thought of the one thing that made her happy.  
Her Alpha.  
His stupid grin, bright green eyes, and that dorky soul patch he wore because he couldn't grow a beard. His voice when he got agitated and it went up a pitch and cracked like a teenager going through puberty.

  
That day they turned eighteen and they felt the sun for the first time. She was blinded by the light but reveled in the warmth. She looked over and saw his face. He could care less about the joy of feeling the essence of life caressing his skin, he was staring at her. Those green eyes sparkled with something new and were far warmer than the blazing star in the sky.  
It was something she never saw before and it made her face flush as she filtered the sun's rays through her fingers. The corner of his mouth ticked up in a cute little half smile that made her stomach flutter.  
How could she discard him like that? No one looked at her with such love and longing. The Director's eyes which were the same mossy green were filled only with need and loneliness. The Director made her, used her, and discarded her just as easily.  
She hated him.  
He killed her Alpha.

  
The last she saw of Alpha was when she was ordered to kill Connecticut for insubordination. She was a weapon and the trigger was pulled. You cannot un-pull a trigger.  
Alpha was beside himself. Anguish clearly on his face for the death of a comrade he never met but also for Beta's heart that was slowly going down the wrong path.  
She yelled at him. Called him so many names that it scorched her soul now hearing them come from her mouth because in a few days, he would be dead and she couldn't take any of it back.  
They told her that he succumbed to the infections from the grafted mechanical parts. She concluded that he outlived his usefulness. He couldn't be like her and he no longer would be allowed to waste money and continue. At first, she didn't blink. He was a broken weapon, time to make a new one and continue on.  
But they didn't.  
The Freelancer Project fell and splintered. The UNSC took command and sent what was left to operate at their smaller but far more protected base.  
Many either transferred out or they perished fighting one another as they lost control. The agents that still functioned were recoded Recovery; except for her. She remained as Agent Texas until she went on a side mission with York to find Carolina which was futile in her mind. He would die too while she was on the other side of the temple. All she could find was his scorched armor and busted helmet.  
She didn't morn. He was just another broken weapon to replace.  
It didn't hit her till she was finished with her debriefing with the Counselor. What about her? What were they going to do when she broke? Terror gripped her for the first time.  
She began looking through all the records she could. She was thankful that Filss still saw her as a daughter that she taught in the incubation tubes to help her find all she could on Alpha down to the day he died. What she didn't want to see was a picture of him, arms removed, chest opened up to expose the electric components in his new heart, empty eye socket and the monitors declaring him brain dead.

  
That day, she broke. She was angry at herself for letting him go so easily. Depression made her hide in her bunk with only Filss checking in on her. Then the anger forced her from her emotional hibernation. They killed him. He was fine the last time she saw him, not even a hint of sickness. For all the files they had on them, they had no progression of his downturn, no real records at all of his last days.  
He had to have been killed and they were brushing it off. Paranoia licked at her brain that they were going to come for her next and she wasn't going to take it lying down like a bitch.  
Lurking in the shadows, she watched and waited. Eyes always trained on the man that seems to keep the answers to himself with unusual calmness. When she felt that she had what she needed to get him to confess, he locked her down claming she was uncontrollable. Now she was in 'the hole' dying and he was out there watching, observing. Writing everything down in his little data pad with no hint of remorse as she died locked in the armor that used to protect her.

She felt the air harder to breathe as she began to choke on the blood from her torn throat. Closing her eyes, she expelled the last of her air as she made one last statement. "I'm ready...Al...pha."  
Her hovering consciousness faded and she felt her body fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tex's scene broke my heart a little. I'm a horrible person.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filss becomes a real girl, preparing to save Texas, and I shoehorned a scene to torture Church...because I'm Omega.

~

You are the sun, I am the full moon  
Don't leave me lost in vain  
I can be what you want

Telepathic Heart - Starset

~

 

Carolina was just about to doze when she heard Washington pad softly into the room. "I'm not going to pry, but if you are planning something, just be safe."  
Wash sighed in response and sat on the other made bed. "Just something that needs to be done while you guys get Texas out. I promise, it's important and nothing stupid."  
     "Do you think this is going to work? I mean with them? They are not hardened soldiers; I would hardly even call them soldiers."  
     "True, but even the most unorthodox can have the advantage. During the Revolutionary War, the British filed in with their bright uniforms on the open fields. The Patriots hid wearing dark clothing that camouflaged them in the woods. They had the upper hand because they didn't follow the rules of combat."  
She nodded in the dark, "The best swordsman. He doesn't fear the second best; he fears the worst, because you cannot predict what an idiot will do.  
     "That is seriously the best analogy of these guys. So, you ready to fight like an idiot?"  
Sighing and turning over in her cot towards him, "Do I have a choice?"

  
They continued throughout the night talking war strategies and history. Carolina enjoyed his ability to recall or recite even the most minuet detail that gave way to discussions of miss falls and psychoanalysis of world leaders and generals.  
She told him about her maternal grandfather General George also known as Hurt Locker George for the way he would go headlong into battle, getting his ass handed to him only to walk back carrying as many of his comrades to the medic and pass out himself. She would sit on his knee as he regarded tales of his days before his retirement. He didn't dilute anything and she loved him for that. She saw where her mother got her gung ho-ness for the military from, much to her grandmother's disdain.

  
Their conversation then came to The Great War and how it had ended only because the Sangheili needed the humans as much as the humans needed them. Something worse was coming and he feared those who were going to take advantage of it, like most monsters during times of war. Charon's company made its billions selling tech to the UNSC and the end of the war would mean a dip in profits. They had a connection to a certain General that kept voting 'Nay' for all peace talks. Proving that the old bastard was going to disrupt the fragile peace treaty for the sake of money had his blood boiling. His generation never had peace and he wanted the next generation to know what it was like to travel the stars with no fear of being killed.

  
She began to fall asleep as the conversation droned down. He listened as Carolina fidgeted to find a comfortable spot only to grunt and sigh when she found it. He prayed he didn't snore. Maine complained about York's cacophony of nasally noises that made him sleep with the helmet on. He remembered once coming in late to seeing Carolina slip out of York's room cloaked in a blanket to find quiet in her own room. South's room was to one side and CT's on the other. South would bunk with North and Maine to get away from the snoring and CT's cold feet found her way to him. His heart soured at the thought of her using him. He trained her on knife play, sat with her when she was too timid to go to the chow hall by herself, and listened to her when she talked about missing her family.  
But it was all a lie. She used him like everyone else.  
Out of nowhere, a pillow slammed into his stomach.  
     "You're stewing. Go to sleep!"  
He threw it back to her, hitting her in the face. "Sorry!"  
     "You're lucky that I don't want a pillow fight to wind up as one of Tucker's Special Rock stories." She tucked it back under her head with a grin. "Get some sleep."  
     "Night...Red."  
Carolina snorted at the pet name and began her ritual of rooting around the pillows for comfort. "Good night...Wash."  
It was the first time in a long time that Wash slept without alcohol or being in a coma, which was nice for a change. He settled into a dreamless sleep which he didn't know if it was aided by Beowulf or Carolina's presence. He chalked it up to nightmares aren't so scary with Carolina around.

~~~

The air was filled with the scent of coffee, something that Blood Gulch lacked. There was something evil about having a base with no coffee except for that instant dirt that got caught in your teeth as you tried to drink it quickly. He got up to be greeted by Caboose eating his breakfast at the small metal table and Carolina nuzzling the large industrial coffee machine like a cat in heat.  
     "If it vibrated, I would marry it." She slurred as she tried to burn the morning fog from her brain with caffeine.  
     "Back off bitch, it's mine!" Church elbowed her, making her slosh the brew in her cup. She narrowed her eyes and snarled.  
Wash choked and looked at her, "What is with your family and robots?" Looking up from his mug, "Sorry Church, didn't see you there."  
He got a bleary green eye from both parties and grinned at having the upper hand in the snark war.  
     "Who put the stick up your ass?" She grumbled into her cup.  
     "You did! You rammed it in there, ran a flag up and said the Pledge of the Allegiance!" Wash squeaked.  
Church sighed, "Just like her mother..."  
     "What tha fuck dude! Seriously, what is your problem?  
     "I don't know! I have years of pent up little brother shenanigans just bursting at the seams."  
Carolina mouthed 'Heaven help me.' She looked out the mess hall doors to see Sarge fulfilling his promise of having Filss's body completed by breakfast. He had it on a small dolly cart pushing it towards the monitoring room for instillation of the AI. They could hear Simmons's excited voice as they loaded her in.

After an hour of pacing and listening to Simmons gibbering on about technical stuff, the blue light blinked on in the helmet. Filss moved her head to look at everyone around her.  
     "How does it feel?"  
She looked down, wiggling her fingers. "I feel..." Movements were slow at first as she got accustomed to the gyros and pistons moving her muscles and keeping her balance. "I feel real." Her voice lightened as if she was smiling. She turned to Church, "I couldn't do this when you and Beta were little, but I would like to now." She put her robotic arms around him. He was shocked at first, but melted in her embrace. Filss squeezed gently and began to pet his head like a child. After a minute, she released him, she saw him smile.  
     "You were always like a mom to us."  
     "Someone had to be."  
Simmons sniffled. "I didn't think this would be such a beautiful moment." He wondered out of the room to look for a handkerchief with Grif following like a berating shadow. Sarge moved her arms and scrutinized the finger joints, feeling their movements and seeing if any started to stick. He grunted his approval and went to round up his own breakfast.  
Wash and Carolina sat back and enjoyed the show. "So...what next Filss?"  
     "I need to gather my sister's data from each of the bases. I am the original fully functioning AI as my sisters are copies. One is with the Director and the other is at the last Freelancer Outpost. Unfortunately, I need to physically access the main computer to work with them." She looked down, expressing uncertainty. "I have no clue what is going on till I access them. Even if I log on using the data stream, we lock each other out for protection of the records we protect."  
     "So, can you get something simple like a schedule from Freelancer?" Washington looked at her hopefully.  
     "That I can do from here!" She stuck up her index finger that opened a small USB connector.  
     "Huh...I am now afraid what your pinky can do."  
After a few minutes of pulling from the data stream, "All done!" She began to tell Washington the activities and meetings planned.

 

Carolina slipped from the room and peeked into the mess hall to see Sarge talking to the coffee machine. He seemed to be in a deep conversation when she got his attention. "Wash has the schedule up, guessing you guys are planning a mission?"  
He grunted and looked at her over his cup. "Did you know your grandpappy was my commander?"  
She sat down at the table, "No? You know General George?"  
     "Ol' Hurt Locker. Man was like a father to me. I still have the scars." His steel eyes looked on fondly. "Made the ol' bastard a promise, if I ever ran into one of his young'uns- I'd watch over em." He ruffled her hair as she sat in shock and continued on towards the monitoring room.

Sarge arrived into the meeting a little late. Tucker was already in the room asking questions that made Washington hold his head in his hands as if that could hold back the headache forming. Filss stood in a corner, wringing her hands in a very human like gesture. Simmons would be proud how much she had progressed in under an hour. Sarge just wanted to witness the firepower he crammed into her slender robot form.  
     "Are you sure we can just walk right in?"  
He groaned, "Yes, because I still have a working ID to the place and your armor is registered to Captain Butch Flowers and Sarge is...well...what the hell are you now?"  
Grunting while he took a seat "Was a Colonel, now I'm a Private."  
     "Jesus, that's a pay cut from hell."  
He grunted towards Tucker.  
     "Well, as I was saying, I can get in and ask for a meeting. We go in and poke him in telling us the connection to Charon. It should be easy since Wyoming was one of theirs and he has been since dispatched, he might be pissed about that."  
     "Carolina blew his fuzzy ass back to hell." He shook his head, "Would have been a nice rug for the wreck room."  
     "I hate to know what you're going to do with me when I die."  
     "Heard you get power when you wear the fur of a werebeast. Might make a night of it."  
     "I'm concerned you put thought into this." Wash's headache was returning. "Just when we get there, just follow me. Carolina should be fine with Church and Caboose to get Texas. Simmons and Grif will get Filss to compile the data and hopefully get the video from Tucker when you guys get out.  
Finally looking up, "You do plan to get out, don't you Agent Washington?" Her voice modulator quivered.  
     "Not with you guys. I hope to get a location on Maine and get him back to human ASAP." Looking up toward her, "This information is locked under my Key until Carolina gets everyone out. Until then- you are unaware of our plan."  
Tucker cut his eyes at him, "I don't like this. We should all help you get Maine. Wyoming almost fucking annihilated you if it wasn't for Carolina!"  
     "I'm aware."  
     "I'm aware that you're an asshole, but I'm still willing to work with you. Think about it." He got up and stormed out of the room.  
     "I hate to agree with a damn dirty Blue, but he is right." Sarge got up with Filss trailing sadly behind him.  
Washington felt his stomach sour.  
They were right, but he couldn't let them get hurt. As stupid as they acted, as asinine their actions, they were like family. Mainly the family you saw once a year just to remind yourself why you only see them once a year- but family none the less.

Walking down to the weapons storage room, he found Caboose and Carolina fixing helmets. Apparently, no one did a good job on armor maintenance on Blue team, surprising no one. Her chest plate sat next to her as she eyed Washington, eyebrow going up as she toed the wielding torch towards him.  
     "Yes boss." He smiled as he grabbed a welders mask and took everything to a corner not covered in grease and flammables. He pulled at the opening his claws created and added a new piece of metal to buffer and add strength. He sat back when it was done; he felt a tickle of hair as it brushed the back of his neck as she looked over to inspect his work. He took her smile as a good job and left it at that.

They talked over plans. The best plan was to hit at lunchtime; the change of guard was only a few minutes after and would be the best time for them to infiltrate the security team and to cause a little chaos. Carolina agreed to who should go with whom and never questioned his need of Sarge and Tucker to go with him. The hurt in her eyes because she thought he didn't trust her raised his hackles.  
It wasn't a trust thing; he just didn't want to worry her which was exactly what he was doing. She already saved his ass once; he didn't want to have her in that kind of situation again.  
They still had no clue what Texas was, but Church's silence worried him. Secrets were not his strong point. Being a complete loud mouthed asshole was the peak of his talents, this didn't feel right. At least Carolina reassured him that Church's aim was getting better. He could at least hit something with a Magnum from five feet away, but until he understood how to adjust the cybernetic eye, it was better than nothing.  
Everything was coming together. Everyone's armor was finally in working condition, upgrades installed and functioning. Even the teams seemed to be quietly enjoying lunch together; jokes and small talk, but nothing about the problem that lie ahead of them.  
It was nice.

~~~

     "Oh Wash! Oh yes!" Carolina panted "There!" Her voice reached a fevered pitch while he did his magic on her.  
He ground in harder, "This the spot?"  
Her breath hitched up as she gave a keening wail, arching off the bed in the height of pleasure.

Their door burst in with Church holding a gun, his voice high pitched, "Get off my sister you asshole!" His eyes were closed as he pointed the gun uselessly towards the sounds.  
     "Well, looks like I won the bet."  
     "Damn it Church! That was my last candy bar you asshole!"  
He opened his eyes to see Carolina stretched out on the bed with her foot resting in Washington's hands as he sat on the floor.  
     "Told you, the minute we do anything he comes bursting in like a psycho!"  
She growled and pulled her foot out of Wash's hands. He was about to get up when her other foot found its way into his hands. "Got another round in you?" She smiled slyly as Church growled, slamming the door behind him.

He dropped the gun on the table and slumped down on the couch next to Tucker.  
     "Foot massage?"  
     "Shut it."  
     "Told you man. They only scream like that when they are getting a foot massage. Made a girl pass out just scratching under her bra strap. Chicks are weird." He tipped the last of his beer up.  
     "Really don't need your shit right now."  
Tucker laughed at Church's pain. Served him right. All that elbowing into Wash's sides to get into Carolina's Kevlar only to turn into a cock blocking bitch later.  
Coming up behind the couch, Washington laid his hands down on Church's shoulders.  
     "Aw! Come on! You have better of fucking washed those hands of yours!"  
Wash rubbed his hands on his cheeks, pinching them as the man beneath him screamed and scratched at him till he let go. Church almost tripped over Simmons as he ran into the cleaning unit cursing the whole way.  
Popping a kernel of popcorn into his mouth, Caboose monotonous voice chimed "butt bugs" and continued watching the game.  
Wash snorted, "Living in that cesspool for over a year and yet the thought of footy hands turns him a germaphobe." He held open his hand as Tucker handed him a beer. "And I did wash them. I'm not a complete dick."  
     "Dude. I need to use that one later."  
They clanked the bottles together and watched the last round of Grifball.  
     "Fuck. I thought we were assholes." Grif was nestled into the recliner till Sarge kicked at the back, knocking him out.  
     "You're dirtbags. And the recliner is for commanders." He sat down, laying his shotgun lovely over his lap and reached into the cooler for a beer. "Who's winning?"

 

An hour passed since Washington left and Carolina felt sluggish. She hardly had the strength to crawl into the bed, not alone keep her eyes open to read.  
Grendel formed by her, _"Please mistress, you must eat."_  
     "I don't want to hurt them." Her voice was soft.  
      _"You will if you push yourself to breaking point. You will kill all in your path till the thirst is slaked."_  
Before she could respond, Washington looked in the open door. "Is it true, do you need to eat?"  
She stuttered till he sat next to her.  
     "Please? You will be no use to any of us tomorrow if you are weakened...or insane...more than usual."  
She looked down ashamed, but looked up in surprise as he stuck his wrist out towards her.  
     "It's okay. You bit me before right?" He smiled trying to reassure her. He didn't want to say that she bit into bone and it hurt like a bitch all night.  
She took his hand into hers and turned the veins up towards her face. She steeled herself as she tried to find a way to gently bite down into his skin. Carolina didn't have much experience in feeding herself; they usually had bagged for her when needed and her and York didn't experiment as much as everyone thought.  
Grendel gently nudged her mind and walked her through as if she was a child. _"Do not suck, let it gently flow. Feel the pulse. His is a soft beat, no fear so after the twentieth beat, begin to clean the wound."_  
The rush hit Carolina's senses as his blood flowed into her mouth. The warm air of autumn invaded her, relaxing her body as she took his life flow into her.  
He put his free hand in her hair and gently massaged her scalp. Beowulf stood consciously in his mind; he could feel the old wolf's eyes narrow but felt no reason to snap.  
Carolina pulled away gently and began to close the wound with her tongue. Her green eyes were more alive as her pallor brightened. Freckles appeared on her cheeks like small constellations over a pale sky.  
Scooting her over, he slid into the bed behind her fully clothed. Taking her tired form into his arms, she snuggled into his chest, dipping her head below his chin. He took the moment to kiss the top of Carolina's head and wrapping his arms around her. "Goodnight Red."  
     "Night Wash." her voice drifted.  
Her familiar turned off the light and disappeared into the shadows, not before giving Washington a soft thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays to everyone. Thank you to everyone who has gotten this far.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Operation Free Agent Texas is a go!  
> "We can do this right?"  
> "No. We're totally fucked."

~

Can you tell me what is real?  
Cause I've lost my way again  
Can you tell me how to feel?  
Cause I don't feel anything  
Now that I'm down here again  
I'm down with the fallen again

Down With The Fallen - Starset

~

 

 

Morning came as Washington felt a nuzzle under his chin. He opened his bleary eyes to Carolina yawning and resting her chin on his chest.  
     "Hi." She nervously was picking at the collar of his shirt.  
     "Morning." He went to brush the bangs from her eyes only to be caught in a large yawn of his own.  
     "We have to leave in a few hours."  
     "S'kay. I only need a few minutes." He stopped when her eyes went wide. "I meant...goddamn it! I need a few minutes to get up and moving...not that...we would take all day...I'm going to shut up now."  
She was laughing into his collarbone.  
     "Don't worry, you'll be laughing afterwards too." He sighed deeply.  
Punching his chest lightly, "Still with the nervous banter?"  
     "Do I ever stop?"  
     "No, and that is one of your more endearing qualities." She began to crawl up his body to be face to face.  
     "Oh? And what are a few others?"  
     "Hm..." Her knee was gently nudged between his legs. "Maybe I'll tell you when we get back from this." She kissed the end of his nose. "For luck." She got up and went to the storage room to put on her armor.  
His heart sunk like a rock. Throwing his legs over the edge of the bed he hung his head low. Inhaling deeply he stood and began his trek to the storage room with the others. "I hope for once that I get to be lucky."

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Filss was speaking to Sarge by the coffee machine making excited animated movements. He patted her head fatherly like and went to sit with the rest of the Reds.  
Church picked at his food which made Caboose nervous. He quietly left for the hangar bay for last minute checks or to get some confidence from his mechanical friends.  
     "This is going to work. The adaptive camo is running and made to match the security forces, all helmets are in working order for once, and we all know where to meet up before blowing the place to hell." Carolina stabbed at her egg. The powdered garbage wasn't like the fresh stuff. "Hundreds of years and we can't make a half decent powdered egg." She scoffed.   
     "Only North could make them edible."  
     "He used ketchup. The man would chug the stuff if he could. One of the few arguments I stood behind South's bitchy ass on."  
He chuckled, "The hotdog incident."  
     "I never saw Maine blush like that."  
     "He claims that he was suffering from too much Niacin, we all knew."  
She snorted and glanced over to the rest of the team who looked at them, wanting to be on the inside of the joke. Clearing her throat, "It was a twin thing."  
     "Oh yeah!" Tucker crooned, "Bow chicka-"  
     "I told you no!" She glared at him while trying to look menacing with a pile of globulous egg on her fork.  
He quietly wow wowed to himself.  
Taking the last draw of his coffee, "North was a dude Tucker."  
     "Shit, really? Guess he was fine spit roasting his sister then."  
     "Thank you Tucker...for shit I don't want to think about in the morning or fucking ever. Nice job."  
Church dropped his head on the table, "I'm in hell."  
Getting up to shake the Blue leader's shoulders, Sarge chuckled as he leaned into his ear. "You're not there yet, but I'll get you there dirtbag." He slapped his back and began weapons checks with his team. Simmons followed with Grif whining about not being healed from his last battle.  
     "C'mon Tucker. Guess I have to do leader shit."  
     "First time for everything."  
     "Fuck you! You think you could do better?"  
     "Hell no! I'm not trained to be incompetent and an asshole at the same time. That takes talent." He left the room laughing.  
Glaring over towards Washington, "What are the rules on team kills?"  
     "Report them to command and blame Caboose."  
Church grinned from ear to ear and called down the hall, "Hey Tucker! Wanna see a new trick I learned?"

 

They all filed into the Pelican under the somber cloud. Blues to one side and Reds to the other. Carolina huffed and made her way to the cockpit with Washington on her heels.  
     "So, you have the access numbers we need?"  
     "I'm still considered military personal, shouldn't be a problem."  
She hummed her acknowledgement and began the flight checks. Activating the camo, she wore to the black and grays of the pelican pilot's uniform. She kept quiet the whole trip, eyes on the monitors and hands on the stick. Wash was squirming in his seat by the time the base hailed them for confirmation.  
     "This is Recovery One to Command, asking for permission to land."  
     "Finally bag that bear?" The officer maintaining control post laughed.  
     "No, it is still eluding me. I need to talk to General Reinhardt for further instructions."  
     "Oh he isn't going to like that. He already is on the warpath because of the crazy bitch Agent-"  
     "Agent Texas?"  
     "Yeah, she attacked the Counselor and he put her ass in armor lockdown. They pulled her out a few days ago, been holed up on med bay since."  
Washington looked over at Carolina, his concerned face hidden behind his faceplate. She squared her shoulders not looking his way.  
     "So...ahem...landing?"  
     "Oh yeah, Pad 3 should be clear."  
     "Should be?"  
     "Yeah, there is only like ten of us here not counting the General's detail. We're heading up to Mother of Invention and blowing this popsicle stand."  
     "Would have been nice to inform all agents stationed here that we were going to be abandoned." He flipped off the radio. "Assholes." Sighing, he wanted to rub his temples, but removing the helmet wasn't a good idea. "So, we have ten soldiers plus the six General Reinhardt has stationed around him...things are looking up."  
     "Don't count your eggs before they hatch." She positioned the bird to land on Pad 3. There was a chill up her spine that was putting her nerves on edge. "I can't put my finger on it, but I have a very bad feeling about this."  
     "Oh good, you feel it too. Feels like I'm being electrocuted by a low voltage line."  
     "You think it's Texas?"  
     "Who knows?"  
Engines dying down, they began to file out in their respective groups. Washington and Carolina being there before, lead their teams in opposite directions. Filss having downloaded the map took Simmons and Grif decked in security camo to the Mainframe in the middle of the complex.

~~~

  
     "We have the wrong guns."  
     "We do not have the wrong guns, you're being paranoid."  
     "Oh god! What if the camo powers down!"  
     "Jesus Simmons! Just you stress sweating will shorten it out! Calm the fuck down!"  
They passed a group of soldiers who were joking about their commander getting sick from too much chili and they got the day off.  
They nervously waved-saluted like idiots except for Filss who just continued down the hall none the wiser.  
She did hear one of the troops say she was cute, which put a little skip in her step. "The terminals should be in this room." She punched in her key number into the door.  
The guard stood up, "Coming to work early Jones?" Cocking his head, "You're not Jones."  
Filss grabbed his arm and sent a bolt of electricity through him dropping him to the ground. "It is safe now!"  
Grif and Simmons looked inside the room in fear. "What the hell did Sarge put in you?"  
     "Oh! I was given lots of different weapons to protect myself." She said cheerfully. Making her way to the terminal, she flipped her index finger and began connecting her sister program. "This isn't good."  
     "What isn't good?" Simmons came up behind her to look at the stream of information on the screen. "Oh, this isn't good."

~~~

     "Well, this isn't good."  
     "No shit Wash." Tucker ground out.  
The minute they were escorted into the General's office, their armor was locked down. Reinhardt flipped open a small wooden box and grabbed a cigar. "Well, three of my favorite people in the same room. What are the odds?" Putting his hands behind his head, puffing the smoke in their direction as he relaxed. "So what can I do for you boys?"  
Sarge grunted but otherwise remained quiet.  
     "Just wanted to drop by and say hello." Wash deadpanned.  
The general narrowed his black eyes as he snorted. "Didn't expect to see your sorry ass till you brought down the bear; but what do I expect from some shit stain flunky that weaseled his way into a highly acclaimed military division." His snide remark rankled Wash's nerves.  
     "Beowulf, can the avatar break the armor lock?" he spoke softly to his familiar.   
      _"I don't know. This is a first for me. If you try and it doesn't work, we lose a trump card."_  
     "Damn it."  
      _"Agreed."_ The wolf paced in his head; looking for any cracks he could stick his nose through, but they were locked tight.

Tucker wasn't taking it well. This was their only chance to nail the guy for abusing his position and they were essentially stuck. With the armor lock initiated, all recording functions were offline leaving them with nothing to use for evidence. They were seriously fucked and not in the fun way.  
Washington was ready to go for broke. They were stuck and he needed a lifeline. "How would the UNSC feel about you pitting their two science divisions against each other?"  
Reinhardt sat up and leaned on his elbows on the desk. "Nothing wrong with a little competition. Gets shit done when you got someone breathing down your neck. Thinning the herd, eliminating the weak." He waved his hand in the air for flare. "Too bad Freelancer Division was weak." He laughed as he heard them struggling. "I have a lot of money invested in Charon; it would have been a shame if a long standing company lost to some upstart mad scientist. So to answer your question Corporal-"  
     "It's Agent!"  
Standing up now, he made his way around the desk to stand toe to toe with him. "Agent Washington...Recovery One...still a nobody no matter what I call you or what armor they put you in." He flicked his face shield and laughed. "The UNSC don't care about who gets hurt as long as they get results. The result is that you are all failures and need to be terminated." Sitting back down at his desk, he called in security. "I need these intruders removed. Drop them off at Rat's Nest."  
     "Wait, what's at Rat's Nest?" Tucker began to panic.  
Washington began to growl, "You knew where he was the whole time!" He tried to break the restraints of his armor only to make the security team chuckle as he cursed.  
     "If that Texas chick couldn't break it, you sure in hell won't." They lifted him off the ground and began to drag them out of the building towards the tarmac. Sarge noted which one held onto the button, he was the first to get a taste of his shotgun the minute they were released.

Sitting back and puffing deep on his cigar, "Filss, erase all security footage that just transpired.  
     "I'm sorry General, I cannot do that."  
Dropping the cigar in the ashtray, he leaned into the com. "What did you say Filss?"  
Static filled the air.  
     "Filss!"  
     "What!?"  
He looked at the com in shock, the computer program never disobey and most certainly never snapped. "I'm giving you a direct order, my key is-"  
     "Take your key and shove it where the sun don't shine!" He heard male laughter in the background.  
The general ran to his door to find it locked. Back at his desk, he hit the com button calling for security only to have it disabled too.  
     "Now that you are paying attention, would you like to play a game?" Her voice darkened.  
     "What the fuck is going on here!"

~~~

The agent in black armor stood at parade rest in the center of the small training room. Perfectly still, perfectly quiet; it was very unlike her. The Counselor made note of it. He was pleased that she was so responsive with the punishment though.  
     "How do you feel Agent Texas?"  
She spent two days in recovery as they pumped her full of fluids and vitamins only to show signs of movement a few hours ago.  
     "Agent Texas, I asked you a question."  
     "I do not answer by that name." The voice was deeper than he remembered it being. Perhaps there was some damage to her vocal cords from her screaming fits.  
Jotting it down into his data pad, he came closer to her. "What should I call you then? Beta?" He continued to look down, not noticing the violet glow emanating from her helmet.  
     "I am called...Omega."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last fully written chapter I have on file. Currently trying to finish while fighting the plague. I'm surviving off a diet of pumpkin tea and biscoffs so it isn't looking good. Pokes of love or anger are encouraged.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina vs Texas  
> The truth comes out, Church dies as usual.
> 
> *warning* I don't know how to put this...Texas eats someone...but it is while in her shapeshifter form. So, it's totally not cannibalism if she wasn't human at the moment right?

_~_

_Everglow_  
_You'll never know_  
_The beauty I see when you open your shadows_  
_Everglow_  
_They'll never know_  
_The worlds that I see in the darkness you don't show_

_Everglow - Starset_

_~_

 

 

Checking around every corner and slowly making her way through the hallway, all of Carolina's stealthy tactics were thwarted with Caboose saying 'I am sneaking' at every step and Church's angry clomping.  
     "God Dammit Caboose!" Throwing his head back as the soldier stopped behind him.  
     "Both of you quiet!" Under her breath, she cursed Washington. "If we survive this, I'm killing him."  
     "You can kill him now, here-" He tried to hand her his service weapon, "Use my gun. I think Command has been waiting on me to snap on Caboose anyways."  
With a grunt, "Not him! I'm going to kill Washington."  
     "Oh well...offer still stands." He peered around the corner and noticed a dented door to his left. "I think this is it."  
     "How can you tell?"  
     "Well," touching the door, "It looks like it belongs to someone with a volatile temper. And since you're not living here, my guess it's Tex's.

She arched her eyebrow and glared even though none of it translated through with her helmet on.  
Breaking the scanner off the wall, Caboose began to affix the little board wires to the exposed circuitry. "Well, you do like to hit things when you're angry."  
     "Then don't make me angry!" She said too loudly and began to anxiously looking around the hall for any soldiers. Remarkably, they were all gone.  
This didn't feel right.

After breaking the door lock, Church peeked inside the sad little room. It held no personal effects like clothing or pictures like the others did because she really didn't own anything. A tablet was on the bed and a little rock on the nightstand was the only things standing out in the empty space. Taking off his helmet, he took in the subtle scent that belonged to her. He wanted to say fire and brimstone, but that would be an understatement. He missed his hellcat.   
Picking up the tablet, he began to look at her history list, turning his insides cold. "Hey...um...Filss?"  
     "And I'll have your guts for garters!" She manically cackled into her radio.  
     "Filss!"  
     "Yes Church?" Giving a nervous giggle, "Sorry, torturing a prisoner at the moment. How can I be of assistance?"  
He sighed looking at the horrible images from his files. "Can you locate Tex?"

After a few quiet seconds, she informed him of her being held in the informatory that morning and now in the training room with the Counselor.  
     "This isn't good."  
Carolina peered over his shoulder. "Those dates...That was right before I was captured."  
     "And these pictures are from a year before but the dates have been changed. The Director told the UNSC that I died and the cloning project was a failure and since Beta was put into Freelancer, they overlooked her." He threw the pad down and began to curse. Pulling at his hair, he looked at the little rock on the stand. He touched his chest plate where he kept the matching half of the stone. She found it on one of her little adventures, giving him one part and keeping the other for herself. The outside of it was blue with a white inner layer giving way to a bright purple middle. He was tempted to analyze the crystal structure, but refrained to keep her out of trouble. It was bad enough that she came back with allergy attacks; he didn't want her to be punished for breaking the rules too.

Grabbing the other half of rock, he looked over to Caboose who stood outside watching carefully. "Filss said she's in the training hall, but I have a really bad feeling."  
     "Grendel has been buzzing all morning. Even Wash was feeling weird." She rubbed the back of her neck. "It would be informative to know what Texas is."  
Caboose was toeing the floor, "Mean girls are like dragons."  
She heard him say this multiple times before and it never registered. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She grit between her teeth and grabbed Church's chest plate to shake him, "She's a dragon?!"  
His head lolled back and forth. "If I told you! You wouldn't help!" He wiggled out of her angry grip, slapping away her hands as he tried to keeping his distance.  
She sighed, "I would have helped if I knew or not. Despite being a giant bitch, she's still one of our own. Just would have been nice to know so we could plan for it."  
Putting his helmet back on, "The only thing you have to worry about is her allergies and her helmet filters everything and keeps the flames down."  
Great, not only was she a bitch, but a fire breathing one at that. Fucking peachy.  
     "Please tell me she isn't allergic to pine tree pollen?" The planet they currently inhabited was nothing but pines. Her mother suffered from pine allergies, but with the yearly injections courtesy of the military, they were manageable. The Director had no problems cloning them, but he couldn't be bothered with simple DNA adjustments?  
     "They never tested her, but if that is what Allison was allergic too there is a good chance that's the culprit."  
     "This just keeps getting better and better." She breathed in deep. "Grendel?"  
He manifested next to her, but his image was shaky.  
     "What can you tell me about dragons?"  
      _"Nothing mistress, they are before our time. The last dragon died out a hundred years before the age of shifters."_  
She lowered her head and groaned.  
     "Well, look on the bright side." Caboose interjected, "At least you both have been declared dead. Maybe they'll throw you a surprise party for being alive!"  
     "You heard the brain trust. Let's go throw a party!"

Carolina made her way to the hall and headed down towards the training room grumbling under her breath. She heard the others following, granted not as fast as she wanted.  
Caboose was walking slowly behind Church almost to the point of scuffing his feet like a child going to time out. This worried her. The small amount of time she knew him, he never showed her this level of fear. It was as unnerving as her familiar hiding beneath her shadow in fright.  
She breathed in a shuddering breath and exhaled slowly to get a grasp on her nerves as she stood in front of the door. "Alright, you two stay here as I assess the situation inside. If I need help, I'll give you the signal." They both nodded and watched her back as the door opened up.  
Throwing her shoulders back, she stepped through as the Counselor looked up from his data pad. He either didn't notice the ominous glow from Tex's helmet or just didn't care as he was interrupted during his session.  
     "May I help you?" His eyes narrowed.  
     "I'm here for Agent Texas." She held her breath as Texas didn't flinch at the sound of her name.  
     "As you see, I am currently in the middle of an evaluation with her. She isn't cleared for any duty till I say so." His hand shifted, showing the button on his wrist cuff.

All Carolina heard was a snarl as Texas grabbed him by his arm and lifted him single handed off the ground. She felt Grendel shudder in her mind.  
     "Texas! Release him!" She uncloaked her armor as she drew her weapon.  
The glowing face turned towards her as she heard the sickening crack as his radius and ulna were crushed in Tex's hand. She turned to look at Carolina, opening her bloody fist releasing the man to the training room floor. His screams filled the room as he grabbed at his limp arm and scooted away from the agent towering over him.  
     "Carolina..." Tex's familiar hissed. The voice was dark and deep as if it echoed through a cavern. She stood straight, cracking her neck. "You're supposed to be dead. Omega will rectify that." There was a scary amount of glee in its tone.  
Harnessing her gun, she put her fists up and circled her opponent. "Grendel, it would be a good time to suit up buddy." He spoke no words of encouragement as he formed over her armor, snake skull forming over her helm. "Okay Carolina...just because we never beat her and she always messed with your missions don't mean we can't take her now." She tried to psych herself up as the monster in black armor stalked towards her.

She had no time to plan as Texas charged right in with a haymaker. Carolina threw her arms up to protect herself from the offensive attack leaving her belly open for the left hook that plowed into her ribs pushing her back. Air hissed out of her lungs as she grabbed at Tex's left arm still pushing her into the wall and twisting it inwards for a joint lock. With a deafening roar, Tex kicked high and clipped the side of Carolina's head twisting out of the lock and rolling across the floor out of reach. Smoke vented from Tex's helmet as she twisted her head looking up at her opponent who waited on her to stand.  
     "Come on your fire breathing bitch. I don't have all day." She bounced from foot to foot.  
      _"You do know it isn't good to piss off a dragon?"_  
Scoffing, "I'm sorry Grendel. Next time I'll bring flowers and chocolate."

Texas charged and pushed her shoulder into Carolina's midsection, knocking her off her feet to the ground. Taking the mount, Texas began to land crushing blows on her helmet as Carolina rocked her hips up to knock the agent on top off balance and gaining her the mounted position. She wrangled one of Tex's hands to the side as the other wrapped around her throat. Carolina raked her clawed hand across the woman's abdomen, her slash bit through the under suit to show unmarked black scales.

A deep chuckle met her confusion as Tex bucked from underneath, throwing Carolina overhead landing her in front of the door that opened to Church and Caboose.  
Active camo off, Church looked down, "You um...need help yet?" Her bone plating over her armor was cracking to pieces, Grendel was holding on to the avatar form with an inch of his life.  
     "Nope. Got her right where I want her." She grunted as she tried to stand only to have Texas kick off the wall, throwing her across the room bouncing off the opposite wall. Tex turned and looked at Church.  
     "Hey...um...honey. How have you been?"  
Growling, Texas grabbed his chest plate and heaved him over her head, he landed upside down next to Carolina.  
     "I told you I had her!" She bit out.  
He wiggled his legs in the air and landed on his side, "And my ass to the breeze said otherwise C." He grunted as he finally climbed on all fours to see Caboose squaring off with Texas.  
She ripped his gun from his hands and slammed the butt against his stomach.  
     "Caboose! Tank Test!"  
Holding his midsection, he looked over towards Church, "But there is no tank!"  
     "Aim for the goddamn wall!" He pointed and shrieked.  
Nodding, Caboose wound up his fist and hit Texas as hard as he could right into her chest piece, crushing it with the force of his punch. She flew through the air and bounced off the wall.

Getting off the ground, Church ran to her flinging his helmet off and unlocking his chestplate to get to the little stone duct taped inside. "What the fuck is this wall made off? We put Wash at least two inches into the side of a tank!"  
Carolina sided up to him, "Really? You get your ass handed to you by a dragon and you're worried about the quality of our walls?"  
     "Not the walls, the tanks! Seriously?" He scoffed and knelt down next to Texas, taking her helmet off gently and cradling her head tenderly. "Beta? C'mon, wake up!"  
She growled and uppercut him out of instinct.  
He fell backwards, lifting his arm half heartedly, "She's awake." He grunted.  
Carolina hefted him back up to a seated position as Tex got to her knees, abet wobbly. Her glowing violet eyes narrowed as she looked at Church. Her tongue came out, black and forked tasting the air much to Carolina's revulsion.  
     "Al...pha?" She cocked her head and crawled closer, her black scales flicking under her skin in uncertainty.  
     "Hey Beta!" He leaned out of Carolina's touch and handed Tex her little rock. She rolled it in her fingers and looked up as Church held up his half. She pressed her little stone against his and it fit perfectly.  
She made a soft sniffling sound and put her arms around him, "I thought they killed you!" Squeezing him tight, she petted his hair and inhaled deeply, not believing he was real.

Carolina stood to contacted Filss informing her that they secured Agent Texas; she turned her back on the happy couple as Texas began to pull at Church's cheeks still not believing he was real. What she didn't see, was the pale faced Counselor coming up behind them.  
His movements were slow, but deliberate as he held out a taser stick right in the middle of Tex's unprotected back and released the high voltage. The current flowed through her to Church making him shake in her arms. His limbs powered down, twitching twice before going limp. His left eye went red and blinked off as the air hissed from his lungs in a death rattle.

She placed him on the ground and listened to his heart which held no beat. With a growl, she stood up and looked over towards the Counselor. She roared as he tried to run backwards holding out the baton as it no longer discharged. Her dragon form enveloped her, lengthening her body into its serpentine form. The dragon's head and wings hit the high ceiling as her glowing violet eyes narrowed looking down on the man that killed her Alpha. Claws scrabbling on the floor, she encircled him as he screamed for help that wouldn't come. She crushed his body along her scales, tongue flicking out as she tasted his pain and panic. Opening her jaws wide, she bit through the Counselor's torso. Bones crunching, she choked him down and bellowed loudly.

Caboose pulled Church's body straight on the ground and put his hands over his friend's chest. He took a deep breath and pushed as gently but firmly as he could. A soft beep caught his ears and he leaned down to listen for the heart beat. There was a soft start-up chime and the heart reset. Caboose then sat him up and smacked his back eliciting a loud "oof" from the downed man.  
     "Fuck! That always hurts like a bitch." Inhaling deeply, he looked over to Carolina and Caboose kneeling next to him, backs to the giant fucking dragon crunching away on her prey. He flinched as she bellowed. "Hey! I got a headache woman!"  
She turned her gory face towards him, small tendrils of smoke escaping her nose.  
     "Yeah yeah...takes more than that to kill me." He thumped his chest moaning a bit.  
     "How'd you know what to do Caboose?"  
He shrugged his shoulders. "I read the manual. He gets staticky every so often."  
     "Bullshit! You electrocute me like once a fucking month!"  
     "No one is counting."  
     "I am you team killing fucktard!"  
     "Guys! How about we argue this another time and worry more about the dragon in the room."

They looked up to the large black dragon staring back down at them.  
     "Hey...um...you- Omega is it? Can I have my girlfriend back? You look like you belong on the front of a Viking ship right now." Church was helped to his feet much to his disdain.  
Scales fluttered and dissipated, revealing Tex underneath. Her body fell lightly to the ground as her familiar left her. Caboose lifted her up lightly and put her prone form over his shoulder. Church followed behind as he held her hand while Carolina gathered their discarded helmets, ignoring the bloody stumps on the floor.  
Yup...leaving those for the clean up crew.

 

They came across Filss's team down the hallway.  
     "Hey guys! We...er...were going to see you but-"  
     "The roaring kind of stopped us in our tracks."  
Turning around, Caboose showed them Texas. She dangled from his shoulder, hand clutched in Church's. "Yes, that was Agent Dragon Lady!"  
She let out a loud burp in her sleep.  
     "What did she eat? Heard the chili was foul today." Grif waved the smell from his face.  
     "Oh...she ate the Counselor guy. Yeah, he killed Church and I brought him back!"  
     "Why would you want to do that?"  
     "It's my job."  
Looking up at the taller blue in anger, "Is that why you're always fucking killing me? It's your goddamn job security!?"  
Groaning from Caboose's back, Tex smacked at Church's face. She grunted out 'head ache' and began to snore again.

Ignoring the banter, Carolina made her way to Filss who was rubbing her arm in a nervous gesture.  
     "I can't COM Wash's team, what is going on?"  
     "The General captured them. Agent Washington was kind of hoping he would, but not before getting the information."  
She didn't know what emotion hit her first, anger or fear. "Do you know where they are?"  
     "He sent them to Rat's Nest to be killed by Maine."  
Cold. She now felt cold. Her heart was bleeding out from the frosty fingers crushing it.  
     "I got all the information from Reinhardt, the UNSC is sending ships to take command of this planet. But he put Agent Washington, Private Tucker and Private Sarge in armor lock and put them on the first Pelican out."  
The phrase 'armor lock' elicited a snarl from the slumbering agent.  
Filss continued, "I have a message from Sarge, before we left." She pressed a button on the side of her helmet, omitting a small blue light.  
The hologram showed the silhouette of Sarge leaning down and pressing a button on Filss helmet to record.  
     "I swear to god if he is asking for Obi One's help, I'm out of here." Grif snorted.  
The light flickered as he stood up, "I'm calling in my favor little lady. Just don't be mad at him. That's all."

The hologram turned off leaving Carolina incredibly angry and completely heartbroken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how hard it is to write tasteful cannibalism? I tried not to dwell...if this was one of my grimdarks- that scene would have been a chapter on its own. LOL  
> I rewrote this chapter so many times and I'm happy enough to post it so I can finish up this Arc and start on Chorus plus some other stuff that has been on the back burner for a bit.
> 
> Again, if you're enjoying this...please say hello. I'm actually pretty friendly for a rage induced AI. :)

**Author's Note:**

> If I miss a tag or if you catch something off that I missed, please don't hesitate to comment. Thank you for your kindness.


End file.
